This Magic Moment
by TheFreshApple
Summary: They can take on drug lords, serial killers, and the press. But how will New York's finest stand against parenthood? DL, FlackStella, OC's. T rating for language and mild peril.
1. A New Addition

TITLE: This Magic Moment

**TITLE:** This Magic Moment

**SUMMARY: **New York's Finest have to face the most challenging case of all. Parenthood.

**SPOILERS:** If it's referring to a past case, I suggest you get caught up on your episodes so I ruin nothing for you.

**DISCLAIMER:** What's theirs is theirs, what's mine is mine. End of story.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Purely a work of my tortured imagination. DL, FlackStella, OC's welcome.

**RATING:** T for terrific!

--

"DANNY? Can you come here for just a minute?" Lindsay's usually calm voice betrayed her as it trembled while calling her husband. Danny looked up from his place on the couch, turning off the Yankee's game before bursting into action. He sprinted down the short hallway to the bathroom door, skidding into the wall due to the lack of purchase his socks had on the wooden floor. He nearly fell over from the impact and backtracked gracefully, holding onto the doorjamb for support. _Yeah, let's not do that again._ He stopped grinning at his own goofiness when he saw the look on his wife's face. "Linds? Baby, what's the matter?"

Lindsay looked up, her brown eyes wide. On her left hand, her wedding band with the small diamond flanked by the two sapphires sparkled in the bathroom light and Danny almost smiled at the sight. Her right hand, however, held something that gave him chills and butterflies and the willies all at once.

"Is that…?" He didn't have enough strength to finish the sentence. Her scared eyes and quivering lip answered it for him.

She held up the pregnancy test, holding it out for him to see. "Blue means yes," she whispered, displaying the proof like she was at court, testifying in a case. He gulped and nodded, stepping closer to get a better look. "Are you sure?" his voice trailed off at the sudden fire in her eyes.

"Of course I'm sure, Danny! These things really don't lie!" Her hand was shaking but her voice wasn't anymore and she sat down on the toilet, breathing heavily.

"Well, yeah, but they've been wrong before, Linds…" once again, Danny couldn't finish. They had been married for a year, and after six months, children had become a definite want. She wanted kids, he wanted kids; hell, the whole lab wanted kids to happen with the two of them ever since Stella had announced that she and Flack were pregnant four months ago. _God, that still sounds weird. I don't care if I was the best man._

Lindsay shook her head, determined. "No. I'm three weeks late, a never for me, and they don't lie **five times in a row**." Her gaze drifted and he followed it to see five empty boxes in the trashcan. She looked up at him again, biting her lip. "I'm pregnant." Her voice was low and timid, full of questions and hope.

Danny stepped back with the force of those words. _**I'm pregnant.**_ Was there ever a scarier sentence in a man's life? For years, Danny hadn't exactly been a love - 'em and leave – 'em type of guy, but he had come close. But he had never wanted marriage, never wanted a family, until he met Lindsay. Correction: until he had kissed her on the flight back from Montana after that stupid trial. That's when he knew that he wanted to marry the woman. That's when he knew that all other women had been a waste of his time. That's when he knew he needed to get the family engagement ring from his ma. That's when he knew… everything.

"You're pregnant," he whispered back, running a hand through his short brown locks. Lindsay nodded, wringing her hands. He looked up from the tile of the bathroom floor to focus on his wife. "**We're** pregnant," he corrected himself, a smile growing across his handsome features. Soon, he was full out laughing, pulling Lindsay into the moment and a giant hug. He kissed her lips passionately, attempting to pull the breath out of her, to show her how he was feeling. Lindsay kissed him back until neither of them could breathe, and then he pulled back to rest his forehead on hers.

"It's a baby, baby," she whispered lovingly, taking one of his hands in hers and guiding it to her belly. Danny's hand stiffened and then relaxed against her flat stomach. He traced a finger up and down her abdomen, feeling her shake with suppressed laughter. "Yeah," he breathed, kissing her nose lightly. "Our baby."

--

"The Greeks are praying for a girl to go along with what the Irish are sure is going to be a boy!" Lindsay blinked in surprise at Stella's greeting the next morning, putting down her coffee cup that held raspberry tea instead of her customary drink. She smiled shyly and returned back to the reports she was scanning over as the older woman made her way over to the younger's desk, smiling like a politician's wife. "Congratulations, kiddo!" Stella pulled Lindsay into a bone-crushing hug that had the young woman gasping for air. "Stella, Lindsay and the baby need to breathe."

Stella let go quickly, her face glowing with excitement. "Sorry. I'm just so happy for you!" She refrained from hugging Lindsay again, instead resorting to kidnapping Danny's desk chair and sitting down slowly. She rubbed her slight tell-tale tummy happily, cracking her neck. "Danny's telling everyone he can get his hands on in the break room. Just thought I should let you know."

Lindsay grinned. "I figured he might. He was so excited last night and this morning. It was like he was walking on clouds." Her grin grew bigger at the memory. "He called his parents, and mine while I was asleep. It was so embarrassing when my mother called me this morning to talk to me and tell me that my husband is far too – overeager." She laughed and leaned in, motioning Stella closer. "Mom told me to issue him on diapers for the first six months and see how enthusiastic he is then."

Stella chuckled appreciatively and nodded. "Ma Flack told me the exact same thing. You remember how Don was when we found out?"

Lindsay nodded, smirking. "Same reaction as Danny, I seem to recall."

Stella grimaced. "At least Danny didn't put banners up around the office."

"Shh, he might hear you. Don't give him any funny ideas." The two women laughed at the happiness of their husbands, loving every minute of it.

As her laughter died away, Stella's green eyes suddenly became serious. "So, how are you feeling? Honestly," she added severely, knowing how Lindsay could be when she wasn't telling the whole story. Lindsay grimaced at the tone of Stella's voice and leaned back in her chair. "I'm… a nervous wreck, Stel, to tell you the truth." Lindsay sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "This is April, which means I'm going to be pregnant through the summer and into winter, which won't be a whole lot of fun for Danny. And then there's the question of my age." She lowered her voice so Stella had to practically stand to hear what her colleague was saying. "I'm twenty-nine years old, Stel. Danny's going to be thirty-one in August. My mother was twenty-five when she had me, and I'm the second youngest of seven!" Lindsay's eyes were panicked. "I don't know if I'm ready to have a baby!"

"Lindsay, listen to me." Stella's kind eyes were comforting and Lindsay could feel some of her panic rush away. "I'm four months pregnant and so excited I can barely stand it. I'm also thirty- seven years old. Don's thirty, which is an even more odd age difference than anything I've ever heard of before." She stopped, thinking. "Well, not really, but it's a lot bigger span than you and Danny. I'm not entirely sure either, but what new mother is?" She reached across the desk to gently encase Lindsay's hand in her own. "Sweetheart, Danny loves you from the bottom of his soul. There's nothing, and I mean, **nothing**, that man wouldn't do for you." Stella smiled. "You're ready."

Lindsay sighed, twisting her hand so it was holding Stella's. Soft brown eyes met warm green and she smiled. "I know you're right."

Stella nodded certainly, patting Lindsay's hand twice before pulling away. "That's the spirit. As the Greeks say," she thought for a moment before grinning. "That's terrible, I can't even remember it in Greek. But I know what I'm saying. _Wonder is the beginning of wisdom._" Stella's eyes lit up at Lindsay's confusion. "What I mean is, you're scared now. You don't know and you're just starting out. But have faith, and soon all will be right."

"Wow, Stel, that's beautiful, really." Danny's voice came out of nowhere, startling them both. Lindsay pressed a hand to her chest as she turned to look at her husband, giggling with surprise. "Danny! You scared me!"

He crossed the room, leaned over, and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. "Sorry." He pulled back, grinning that half-grin of his that had the power to make Lindsay melt. "Flack found his old 'It's a Baby!' banners stuffed in an old locker, so we're gonna cross out 'Flack' and replace it with 'Messer'." He grinned devilishly and grabbed the box of thumbtacks on Lindsay's desk. "We might even sneak into Mac's office and put one in there." He winked at Stella, kissed his wife again, and ran quickly out the door. Lindsay looked at her friend dazedly, shaking her head. "My God," she muttered under her breath, taking a sip of now cold tea. She made a face and Stella snorted. "Lindsay, wonder now. With that one, you're gonna need all the wisdom you can get."

The women's laughter drifted down the hall and into Mac's office where Danny and Don had been caught and were being assisted by Mac himself to hang the sign. The three men stopped and listened; Danny's smile growing wider with every passing millisecond. Mac shook his head and held his end up a little higher. "I hope this won't affect your work," he told his detective, raising a critical eyebrow.

Danny shook his head and firmly taped the sign on the glass of Mac's office. "Gimme today, and I'm a happy man," he replied, grunting with satisfaction when the sign stayed. Don clapped him on the shoulder and stepped back to admire their handiwork. "What are you hoping for, Messer?"

Danny shrugged, jumping off the chair he was standing on. "A healthy baby, I guess."

Flack snorted and shook his head. "Male or female, Messer? Guy or girl? _Ragazzo_ or _ragazza_? Colleen or…"

"Whoa, Flack man, I get the point." Danny held up his hand to stop his friend. "Frankly, I'm really not caring. I just want a healthy baby." He took off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And I hope Lindsay makes it out okay."

Mac clapped Danny on the shoulder, very much like a father would to his favorite son. "Lindsay's strong, Danny. She'll be fine."

Flack nodded. "Yeah, and the kid will be a combination of you two, so I'm thinking really tough with a lot of pig-headed thrown in." He had to move quickly to dodge the punch Danny threw at him and even Mac chuckled at the look on Danny's face. "Seriously though, Messer," this time, Flack held up a hand to stop the blows, "If it's a girl, and this is hypothetical," he minutely moved a few inches away, gauging his distance from the door, "can my son take her to Prom?" He was out of the room before either Danny or Mac had realized what he had said, and the look of dawning that crossed the former's face even scared Mac a little. The older detective motioned to the door as Danny looked at him and the young man bolted for the door, chasing down his best friend. Mac just shook his head and sat back down at his desk. _This is gonna be an interesting year. _

--

Nine months and several interesting memories later, Lindsay was lying in a hospital bed, her hair laden with sweat and her face contorted into a grimace of pain. Her breathing was labored and Danny winced as she squeezed his hand. "Squeeze as hard as it hurts," he had told her and while she had rolled her eyes at the sentiment before, she was using the offer now. Danny watched in awe as his wife screamed bloody murder several times at the top of her lungs and pushed, expelling a human creature from her body. A nerve-wracking moment and a shrill cry cut through the air, sending Lindsay into tears. Danny kissed her forehead and then her lips, his eyes never leaving the small pink bundle now being bustled about by a nurse. Lindsay's eyes were tired and her smile was weary, but at least she was smiling. "Go tell everyone. I'm not going anywhere," she said to him, resting her head against the pillows behind her. He nodded and kissed her hand once, resisting the urge to hold on forever as he left the room for the reception area.

The whole New York Crime Lab looked up in surprise as Danny came bursting through the hospital doors covered in scrubs and blood. He searched wildly around the room, not really seeking anyone, just wanting to be heard. "It's a girl!" he announced, beaming from ear to ear.

There was a jubilant shout that echoed throughout the room as the news was processed by all present. Don came up to shake Danny's hand, the two men grinning knowingly at each other, like they had a big secret no one else knew about. Stella hugged the proud father, being careful not to jostle baby Jason in her arms. "Congratulations," Mac told him as he shook Danny's hand and Peyton smiled and offered her arms for a hug.

Danny held up his finger and bolted back into the delivery room, anxious to find his wife and new daughter. He almost missed the room Lindsay had been moved to, and when he spotted her, he stopped suddenly, unable to breathe.

There she was, smiling like an angel at the small bundle wrapped in pink in her arms. Lindsay's smile was nothing short of beatific and she carefully moved the blankets to see her daughter better. Danny's heart discontinued to beat for a moment as he contemplated the scene before him. _I'm a father. A real, live, honest to God, sure-as-shit father._ He blew out the breath he had been holding, grabbing the door handle too keep from falling over. _What kinda dad am I gonna be? Will I be good at it? This is the one thing I'm not sure about._ He looked up to see Lindsay studying him through the glass. _But I'm sure about her._ His gaze fell on his infant daughter. _And her._ He smiled and pushed through the doors to his wife's room. _Yeah, I can do this._

Flack and Stella observed the family through the window in the door. "They look so happy," Stella whispered to her husband. Flack looked down at her, and smiled. "So do you," he pointed out, rubbing her back softly. Stella smiled and looked down at the small bundle in her arms. "The pair of them are going to make quite a team."

Flack nodded and rested his head on the top of his wife's. "Jason Donald Flack," he looked through the window at the happy Messers, "and Meghan Marie Messer." He shook his head slowly, suddenly apprehensive. "What if they end up being like Bonnie and Clyde?"

Stella just laughed and pulled her husband away by his tie.

--

**A/N:** So… tell me what you think and I'll give you a cookie! Not really, but I'd love some nice, warm, gooey feedback anyway!


	2. You Can't Have Both

**A/N:** _You guys all get cookies!! You're going to have to furnish them yourself, but do it in my name!! Thank you for all the splendiferous reviews and now, on with the show! _

**16 years later…**

---

"C'mon, Flack, don't do that." The girl looked up from where she sat on the pavement, inscribing a poem in her notebook, to the tall boy standing on the trashcan, leaving his mark with red paint. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her deep brown eyes observed the letters her friend had written on the cold cement.

He grinned back at her, green eyes sparkling with the danger of the moment. "Aw, what'sa matter, Meg? You afraid your daddy's gonna catch me?"

The girl shook her head and rolled her eyes, a characteristic she had inherited from her mother. "No, but your daddy could very well bring him along when they haul your ass to jail." She closed her notebook and stood up, brushing the dirt off her jeans. "Let's just go, Jason."

He sighed and gazed at her before running a hand through his black hair and tossing the paint can in his other hand down the alley. "Okay, fine. Fun-sucker." He jumped off of the silver can, swaggering towards her in a walk that made her smile. "You know, you kinda look like your mom when the light hits your face just right." He came to stand in front of her, cocking his head. "Nah, you still look like your pop."

Meghan grinned at him, shaking her head. "And you look way too much like your dad." She looked over his shoulder, making a face. "You really shouldn't have written 'MF' up there. People are gonna know."

Jason sighed again, putting his arm around her shoulders. He surveyed his handiwork, then looked down at the girl next to him. "Would you relax? People will think it means 'Mothaf—" He was halted by her hand over his mouth and his grunts of protests were met by a stern glare. "Say the word, and I'll turn you in myself." Meghan pulled her hand away slowly, grinning. "I thought we were gonna break you of that nasty swearing habit your Irish heritage gave you?"

He grinned back at her as the two of them began walking towards the alleyway and into the sounds of New York City at night. "Eh, you know I can't help myself." Looking around, he pulled her against him, turning so her back was against the wall. Bracing his hands on either side of her head, Jason pressed the full length of his body against her, smiling as Meghan gasped and braced her hands against his chest. A full nine inches shorter than him, she had to crane her head to look up at him and his green eyes took her breath away. "Just like I couldn't help writin' those letters on that wall. There's just somethin' in me." He moved his head closer to hers, until their noses were inches apart. "Why can't I control myself, Meghan?"

She shrugged and batted her eyes playfully. "No idea." Taking a deep breath, she slipped out from underneath his body, punching him lightly on the shoulder as she went. "Now, quit kiddin' around. We're way past curfew." She could see the light from the street and turned to him, walking backwards. "My mom's probably called your mom, and they've probably called the cops,"

"A.K.A., Dad and Dad," Jason added, grinning as he followed her.

Meghan nodded, laughing. "Correct, so we are probably screwed over for life." She turned and stopped dead in her tracks, biting her lip in pain as Jason ran into her. "Shit."

"I thought we were gonna break you of that nasty swearing habit your Italian heritage gave you?" he whispered into her ear before walking around the right of her and standing with his hands in his pockets. "Shut up," she whispered back, lowering her eyes to the pavement briefly before looking at Jason out of the corner of her eye. Meghan knew he was pretending to be calm; she could see him bite his bottom lip anxiously as he surveyed the sight in front of them. She turned to the flashing blue and red lights as well, wincing. "Hi, Daddy."

Danny Messer raised his eyebrows at his daughter's greeting. "Hi, sweetheart," he replied, his accent thick and Meghan closed her eyes in silent prayer. _Please let him be here on the fact that there's a serial killer right behind us._ Don Flack stepped from behind his best friend, holding a red paint can in one hand and a sarcastic smile on his lips. "Having fun?" he asked his son, blue eyes flashing.

Jason grimaced. "If I say not really, will I be in less trouble?"

Don shook his head, smile gone. "No."

Jason sighed and tilted his head, looking at Meghan. "I told you this was a bad idea."

She clapped a hand to her eyes, blocking the sight of her father's surprised face. "Shut up, Flack, just shut up," she groaned, feeling the last ounces of confidence slipping from her grasp. _We are so dead._

"You two are in so much trouble, I can't even start to tell ya…" Danny sighed, and pulled out his phone slowly. "I'm gonna call Stella and Lindsay, tell them we found 'em." He looked at his daughter through the thin frames of his glasses. "Do you have any idea how worried your mother was?" His Staten Island brogue grew stronger with every word and Meghan hunched her shoulders, and put her hands in her pockets, shrugging. "Yeah, I got a pretty good idea, considering she called the **cops**." She bit her tongue as she felt her own New Yorker slip out and Danny took a step back at the force of her anger.

"She called me, Meghan. I'm on call tonight. That means I can't be chasin' you all over the city, worried sick…" Danny's eyes sparked with the strength of his words and he forced himself to stay calm. _She's at the age where she wants to be treated like an adult. Give her a little breathing room and time to explain herself before you go all "Bad Cop" on her._ Lindsay's words came back to him and he took a deep breath, attempting to slow his heart rate. _Easy, man. You're not thirty any more, remember?_

"Yeah, did you ever think of callin' my phone? You gave it to me for this reason! God, Dad," Meghan folded her arms across her chest like she was holding herself back, "Did you ever think of treatin' me like a normal kid? Maybe being a **normal** father, callin' me before you pulled out the squad car and the bus? I mean, Jesus," she threw her hands up in a motion that Danny knew she had gotten from his mother and gestured to his truck, where Danny knew Hawkes was desperately attempting to stay out of sight, "You brought Hawkes? Did you think we were dead or somethin'?"

"Meghan, you need to watch your tone…" Danny's voice held a warning and he watched as the fight went out of his daughter only to be replaced by something far worse: the stubbornness she had inherited from him. She scoffed and brushed past him quickly, walking past his truck to the busy street. "OY! Where the hell do you think you're goin'?" Danny shoved his hands in his jeans pockets, walking quickly after her.

Meghan turned around once, her face etched with fury. "I'm goin' home! Don't worry, I don't need a police escort!" She took off running and Danny had to use the last fragment of self-restraint he had to not follow her. He turned to see Don dishing out a load of punishment on a very angry Jason and Danny rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "Flack," he called out, swallowing a smirk when both father and son turned to look at him, "Send him back to my place. That's where Stella's at."

Don nodded, turning back to his son. "Three weeks, no questions. I dunno how many times we're gonna have to do this until you get it in your head that you can't be a juvenile delinquent!"

"Why, Dad? Because you're a cop? You've already won pretty much every award there is, I don't think the apple that fell far from the tree is gonna kill your rep too bad." Jason's eyes met his father's strongly and Don Flack noticed that his son was an inch taller than him. _Great. Now I really feel old._ Don drew in a breath, feeling the scar on his chest constrict. "No, because it'll kill your ma. Go back to Danny's and wait until your mother says you can go home." His voice was quiet and Jason hesitated before hanging his head and walking away slowly. He didn't look up from the ground to meet Danny's eyes and when he reached the street he took off running like Meghan had.

Danny watched him go, not looking at Don when the other detective came to stand beside him. "Next time, Lindsay and Stella can come out here, guns blazin' and deal with the Dynamic Duo." Don's voice was gravelly and Danny could hear the pain in his chest through his tone. He smirked and pushed his glasses up, rubbing his eyes. "I don't think Linds would allow guns to be blazin' if her baby was in the way." He ran his hands down his face slowly, still staring at the place the kids had taken off running. "Neither would Stella." He looked at his friend slowly, shaking his head. "Were we just tryin' to be good parents, or good cops?"

Don shrugged, admitting defeat. "You know, Danno, I don't think it's possible to be both in this kinda situation."

Danny snorted, turning to walk quickly to his truck. "Great. Just great."


	3. Fatherhood is a Joke

Meghan looked up from where she was sitting on the couch when Danny walked through the door and immediately let her head drop back onto her knees, hugging her legs closer to her body. She had seen the interrogations, and the criminals that were on the end of her dad's temper: it wasn't pretty. Silently, she thanked God that she was Danny's kid, and not Don's because Danny at least _knew_ about being reckless as a teenager. Don had a long history of police upbringing, and Meghan winced, knowing that when Don laid into Jason, it was going to be a fight that would eventually have Stella in the middle, playing referee. _But Dad doesn't stand for shit either,_ she told herself, hearing the door click shut and Danny's feet on the hardwood floor. _Oh, I am so dead._

Danny could still remember the first time Meghan and Jason had gotten in trouble together. As he set his bag down next to the hall table, dropped his keys and started walking for the living room and his daughter, Danny bit back a smile at the memory of that first phone call, not from the police but from the kids' pre-school teacher. Ms. Mulcahey, or something Irish like that. She had called Lindsay at work, in tears, ranting about "heathen children" and "improper upbringing". Danny had rushed to the school to find the teacher under the playpen and Jason and Meghan sitting on top, smug, while the rest of the class ran rampant. Danny had managed to calm down fifteen hysterical three-year-olds and free the teacher, but when he had brought the pair back to the station for a tongue-lashing, they hadn't been remorseful in the slightest.

"_Alright, Jase. Why'd you do it?" Don paced in front of two wide-eyed toddlers, crossing his arms and putting on his best "no-bullshit" face. To maximize the severity of the situation, Mac had granted Danny and Flack the use of one of the interrogation rooms, complete with cold steel tables and chairs. Jason's green eyes were as big as dinner plates as he sternly surveyed his father before shrugging and replying seriously, "No wights." _

_Don turned to Danny, confused. "What'd he say?" _

_Danny shook his head, just as baffled. "Dunno. His accent's too thick." He lowered his head to peer at his tiny daughter over his glasses. "Meghan, care to translate?" _

_Meghan took a deep breath, twisting her fingers in her brown hair, before solemnly responding, "Ms. M-M-Mulhahey," she looked at her father apprehensively and he nodded encouragingly, ignoring the slip-up. Meghan beamed and continued, "She made us take a nap. No naps!" Her little hand hit the table, making hardly a sound, as she emphasized her point, "So we put hers in jail, 'til she gave us wights." She flashed a crooked smile that had her father written all over it, and Danny had to clench his fists to keep from smiling back. "I get it. She didn't give you any rights?" _

_The pair nodded, heads bobbing dangerously close to the edge of the table. Danny straightened up slowly, looking pointedly at Flack. "She didn't read them their rights. Who's been teachin' them cop jargon lately?" He turned to the window where behind mirrored glass, Lindsay and Stella were helpless with giggles. "Lindsay!"_

_A moment later, Meghan's eyes shone with delight and her small arms flew open. "Mommy!" she shrieked, standing on the chair so her mother could pick her up easier. Lindsay grinned apologetically at Danny, scooping up her wriggling daughter. "Stella and I can't take them with us to the crime scenes, so we let some of the rookies look after them, just until we got back." She shrugged, hugging Meghan to her. "I guess they taught them how be cops." _

_Danny stared at her, dumbstruck, as Flack's jaw dropped open in disbelief. "You left my son alone with the rookies?" he thundered at Stella, who had just entered the room. She surveyed him coolly, picking up Jason and placing him on her hip. "The female rookies, yes." She placed a finger on Flack's chin, guiding his mouth shut. "You two always disappear when it comes time for you to baby-sit, and we were desperate. Some of those girls are really nice." _

_Lindsay nodded, cocking an eyebrow at Danny. "Exactly. Don't blame us when your kids get in trouble because you aren't around to prevent them from learning things that could get them into trouble." _

_Danny noticed Meghan's outstretched hands and he took her from her mother's arms, scrutinizing the little girl who looked so much like him thoughtfully. "Is it my fault that you arrested your teacher today?" _

_Her violent head nodding nearly knocked off his glasses and she threw her arms around his neck, nuzzling into his shoulder. "S'ok, Daddy," she whispered into his ear, "I won't tell Mommy." _

Danny rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. God, how he wished Meghan could still tell him it was okay, he didn't have to be angry. But he couldn't keep coming home to a fight, an argument about how she spent her free time and with whom she spent it. It wasn't that he didn't like Jason, hell, Jason was his godson, after all. But the kid was a loose cannon, desperate to prove to his father that he didn't want to be a cop, and Danny knew from personal experience, that when a young man felt that he had something to prove, there was nothing he wouldn't do. He didn't want bad blood between him and Flack, especially not after all those late hours before Jason, and then Meghan, had been born, consuming unhealthy amounts of beer and planning. The two of them would grow up together with the love of their families, crime lab and natural together, and eventually get married.

And then Jason started to get in more trouble than Flack or Stella knew what to do with and Meghan started to cover for him and Danny and got lost in the transition between loving baby girl and responsible young woman. Lindsay seemed to know what to do, most of the time. Meghan was their worry spot, the thing that kept both him and Lindsay up at night, fretting over her future and actions. "She's gotta learn she can't cover for him all the time anymore," he muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes. A sound to his left made him look up quickly, his hands frozen on his face.

Lindsay observed her husband with somber eyes, leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen. "Talking to yourself? Never a good sign, especially after a case."

"It wasn't the case I was mutterin' about," he informed her, sending one last look down the hall.

"I know." Lindsay handed him a glass of water, smiling when he thanked her with exhausted eyes. "Hi," was the first word out of his mouth after swallowing the water in five gulps and he leaned in to kiss his wife.

"Hi," she replied, obliging him with a quick but loving peck on the lips. She nodded in the direction of the living room, eyebrows raised. "She's miserable."

He braced himself against the doorframe, one hand on either side of Lindsay's head. "I saw. She's knows she's in trouble. That's good."

She shook her head. "Wrong, cowboy. She's miserable because she thinks you're overreacting, and she knows you won't agree with her, although I do." Lindsay held a finger to his lips, brown eyes stern. "Danny, I've told you, you can't yell at her like she's another criminal that did something stupid. I looked at her hands," she placed her hands on either side of his face, drawing his eyes to hers, holding them for full attention. "There was no trace of red paint on them, which means she didn't handle the paint. She's not guilty of any crime except of being around Jason, and you know how much she adores that boy." A slight country twang slipped through and Danny glared at her through his glasses. "Who's treatin' her like a criminal now, Ms. I-checked-for-trace-before-you-could?"

Lindsay smacked him on the shoulder, grinning. "Be serious, Danny. She's scared you're going to do something drastic!"

"I may have to!" He held up his hands helplessly. "This is the fourth time this month we've caught them doing somethin' bad."

"Bad, yes, but not illegal." Lindsay crossed her arms and gave him the glare that she had when they had first started working together. The _You're being unprofessional, and I don't like it_ glare. "Don't do that," he mumbled, causing her to intensify the look. Danny could only hold out so long before he let out a breath, visibly deflating against his wife's stare. "Okay, I'll go easy on her, since it wasn't _illegal_." He turned, motioning down the hall. "Can I go talk to our daughter now?"

"Yes, Detective, you may," Lindsay's mood switched dramatically and she smiled brightly. Danny sighed, shaking his head. "You are insane, Montana," he groaned as Lindsay pushed him down the hall, smacking his ass lightly, making him jump and glare at her. She winked and sauntered back into the kitchen. "You like it," she informed him and Danny turned, smiling.

Meghan looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "Did the Mom card work?"

Danny stretched and surveyed her with a hint of amusement in his blue eyes. "Not a bit."

She let her head drop back onto the back of the couch, groaning. "I thought not." She lifted her head, pointing in the direction of the kitchen. "It was all her idea, for the record."

"Who said any of this was on the record?" Danny sat next to her, not touching, but not a threatening presence either. Meghan turned to face him so her back was against the arm and she was sitting cross-legged on a single cushion. She had kidnapped the one comfortable pillow and Danny stared at it enviously before taking off his glasses and squinting at the teenager across from him. "Was the spray paint your idea, or Jason's?"

"Jason's."

"The 'MF' on the wall?"

"Jason's."

"The notebook we found?"

Meghan's eyes opened wide and she sat up straighter. "Did you read my notebook?"

Danny shook his head. "No, it's in my bag. Why?" He cocked an eyebrow quizzically. "Is there something in there that you don't want me to see?"

"YES! I'm working on my YAWA entry in there." At her father's questioning look, Meghan sighed. "Young Adult Writers of America? The convention's in town in a couple of months and if I submit my essay there, I can be recognized in the New York Times. And not," she pointed an accusatory finger at her father, "as 'New York's Finest Screw-up'. That was seriously not funny, Dad!" Her voice rose on the last syllable as Danny burst into hysterical laughter. He saw the pillow too late and barely had enough time to raise his arms before the feathery missile made contact. "I'm sorry, but that was incredibly funny! Crashin' the cruiser into a light pole was terrific, even if it did get you in a huge amount of trouble." He winked at her. "It's almost somethin' I would have done. But we're not talkin' about me," he sobered quickly and Meghan braced herself. "That was vandalism, what you two pulled tonight, and you could be in serious trouble, except that your mother said that you had no paint on your hands, so you're simply an accomplice."

"Yeah, and Jason found the paint in the alley. We were really just talkin'." Meghan slipped into a New York brogue and Danny smiled. "Yeah, that's what I figured. What were you talkin' about?" He pulled a piece of paper and a pen from the coffee table and looked at her mock- seriously. "This is for the record."

"Da-ad." Meghan rolled her eyes and Danny was reminded of Lindsay instantly. "I told him he needs to straighten out his act before graduation. That's all. Don't tell him I told you, and don't tell Uncle Don either." She shot him the same glare her mother had given him not ten minutes ago and Danny shifted uncomfortably. "Don't do that," he muttered and she smiled. "Sorry, but you tend to blab to Flack all the time, and Jason really does want to change." She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Am I done?"

Danny nodded, running his hands through his short brown hair, the same color as his daughter's, except his was starting to get streaks of gray. "Yeah, I guess."

Meghan started to get up and then stopped, glancing at Danny out of the corner of her eye. "How much probation I got?"

"How come you don't call it bein' grounded, like all the other kids? Why **probation**?" Danny pushed his glasses up his nose and surveyed his daughter with warm blue eyes.

Meghan rolled her eyes again, laughing at her father sarcastically. "Because all the other kids' parents are **normal**. Let's not forget, I live with **cops.**" She quickly jumped off the couch, kissing Danny on the forehead. "I'm gonna get my notebook and go to bed."

He nodded and called down the hall, "Three weeks. And I thought you didn't want to be treated like you lived with cops?" he yelled over the sounds of her protest and Meghan glared at him as she walked through the room to her bedroom, blue spiral notebook firmly in one hand. "T'would be like stopping the sun from shining. 'Night, Daddy."

"G'night, Meg." He waited until he heard the sounds of his daughter's bedroom door closing before getting up from the couch. His back protested and his knees groaned loudly and Danny coughed to mask the sound of his grunt of pain. "Bear with me guys," he mentally told his body, "I'm only forty-six. Stay with me." He walked slowly into the kitchen where Lindsay was on the phone. Going to the fridge, Danny looked through its contents, listening in. It sounded like Stella, but he couldn't really be sure. He knew Don had stayed a bit later, finishing up some paperwork and was going to head home when he got finished. Danny smiled as Lindsay said, "Yeah, they just finished over here. Yeah, I'll talk to you tomorrow, Stel. 'Bye." She hung up the phone and Danny pulled his head out of the refrigerator.

"Flack home yet?" he asked, brow wrinkling in worry at the sight of Lindsay's face. She was biting her lip nervously and her arms were crossed as she leaned against the counter. She nodded her head. "He just got there. That was why Stella had to go." She sighed, looking at her husband. "Danny, Jason was really sorry for what he did, but I think Flack's had it. I mean it, Flack's done, and Stella's at the end of her rope. I don't know if he's safe to be around anymore."

Danny closed the fridge door quietly and crossed the kitchen to pull Lindsay into a hug, enveloping her small frame in his arms. "I thought you wanted me to give him a chance."

"Yes, when she could hear me. I love Jason, you know I do, but he scares me." Lindsay's brown eyes filled with tears and Danny's heart broke. "I can't lose her because of a bad decision."

"Yours or his?" Danny regretted the question as soon as it slipped from his mouth; what surprised him is that Lindsay didn't get mad: she just shrugged. "Exactly."

"Exactly what?" Honestly confused, he pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking. Lindsay looked up at him briefly before closing her eyes. "Never mind," she whispered, smiling as Danny leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. "I'm going to bed. You coming?" she asked, pulling on his work shirt as she made her way to their bedroom. Danny nodded, following. "Looks like I don't have a choice."

Lindsay laughed and shook her head. "Nope. You don't."

---

Four blocks away, Stella watched as her son and her husband stood on opposite sides of the living room, yelling a bloody streak. Flack had brought up a past misdemeanor and that had been enough to set Jason off on how his father had never been around enough when he was young, so he was to blame for all his son's faults. As the two of them paused to take a breath, Stella jumped in, literally. She tripped over the coffee table and nearly tumbled to the floor before Don caught her in his strong arms. She smiled her thanks and blew a curl out of her face before staring beseechingly at her son. "Jason, look. We're worried about you. I don't know what brings on this behavior, but it's really got to stop if you want to have any kind of future at all." She looked up at her husband, begging him with hopeful eyes. "You've seen the kind of guys that come through your dad's station, and I don't want you to end up like them. You know what I mean?"

Jason took a deep breath, as though bracing himself to start yelling again, but the look on his mother's face, combined with the sight of streaks of gray in his father's hair made him stop. He held the breath for a moment before letting it out slowly. "Yeah, I know. I promised Meghan that I'd quit anyway." He shoved his hands in his back pockets, not meeting his dad's eyes. Flack bit his bottom lip, helping Stella upright while still staring at his son. "Stel, do me a favor—Will you make a pot of coffee?"

Being the cop she was, Stella didn't ask questions, just smiled at her son as she walked to the kitchen. Don watched his son for a moment before loosening his tie and sitting heavily in an armchair. "Sit down, Jase."

Jason looked up in surprise, partly at the use of the nickname, partly at the tired tone his father's voice had taken. He climbed over the back of the couch and slid to the floor, putting the coffee table between him and his father. Flack observed his son with blue eyes before breaking into a smile. "You promised Meghan, hmm?"

"Dad, don't do that, okay? Don't make this into a bigger deal than it is." Jason rested his elbows on the table in front of him, propping his head up. "She's just worried about me, that's all."

Flack nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah, I get it. Let me tell you a story."

Jason groaned but didn't get up. "God, this better not be a weird You'll-thank-me-later story."

"No, no, nothin' like that," Flack defended, holding up his hands for effect. "Before you were born, I tended to be a bit of a risk-taker. I would go head-to-head with some of the worst guys in this city. Eventually, your mom begged me to stop because she knew I'd end up getting hurt. This," he motioned to his chest, where the scar from the bombing still marred his abdomen, "doesn't count." Jason smirked and nodded, a sign that he was listening. "Well, I did start to take things a little slower, and I started to accept the fact that I had more responsibilities than I did before I married your mom and she had you. I took it slower, because I love her and I want you to grow up with a dad around." He exhaled slowly, praying that his tough upbringing hadn't prevented him from getting his point across. "Do you see what I mean?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah. You think that because I told Meghan I'd stop gettin' in trouble, that means I'm in love with her." He stood, shaking his head. "I'm pretty sure I'm not, though, Pop."

"Yeah, but I know you care about her. Your mom told me about Prom." It was Flack's turn to smirk at the disbelief on his son's face. "Moms are not secret-keepers, pal. Sorry."

Jason shrugged. "S'ok. I guess I knew she'd tell you sooner or later." He grimaced. "I gotta talk to Danny first, though, Mom says."

Don stood as well, clapping his son on the shoulder. "Let me work him over a bit and then you can go to him." He winked conspiratorially at the younger Flack. "Danny and me go way back when it comes to you two."

Jason sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" He lightly punched his dad on the shoulder, "Night, Dad."

Flack nodded. "Night, kid."

"Night, Ma!" Jason called down the hall, smiling when he saw Stella's head poke out of the kitchen door and saw her wave. "Night, sweetheart!" she called back, watching her son disappear from view.

Don listened until he heard his son's bedroom door shut before he trudged into the kitchen, grinning at Stella sitting on the counter, no coffee in sight. "I think he knew we planned that."

She shook her head, smiling back. "Nah, he's just a boy. He's got a while yet before he can tell we're planning something." She held out her arms, motioning her husband closer. Don obliged and walked to the comfort of Stella's embrace, feeling her bury her head into his neck. "That was good, what you did."

"What, having a **normal** conversation with my son? Think nothing of it." Don's blue eyes sparkled and Stella was reminded of Danny. "What did he say about Prom?"

"He's gonna ask her, but I'm gonna talk to Danny first, soften him up a bit. You can never tell with Messer. Completely unpredictable." Don smiled as Stella rolled her green eyes, chuckling. "You're not exactly Captain Obvious either, have some pride, man!" She shrieked happily as Don pulled her off the counter, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "How's this for spontaneity?" he asked, carrying his laughing wife to their bedroom and shutting the door.

---

_Whew! 3654 words this was, I kid you not. Wow, can you say Yoda-speak? Anyway, tell me what you think! I love to hear back from y'all and the story's just getting started, so any suggestions are highly appreciated! _


	4. Secrets and Surprises

**A/N:**_ For the record, you guys are amazing, and the feedback and suggestions you gave were awesome! Thanks so much, and now, a little time hopping._

**3 months later... **

---

"Ladies! We're gonna be late! And you know how Mac is with punctuality! _Dovrei rimanere singolo_," Danny muttered under his breath as he sprinted/skidded from one end of the hall to the other, effectively crashing into his bedroom door. He shook his head once to clear the stars and opened the door just in time to catch Lindsay slipping into his favorite skirt: the one that hugged her curves in all the right places. "Hey. Let's just send her and stay home?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively and Lindsay laughed, shaking her head. "Danny! Behave. You know we can't let her go by herself, not to a **boring police dinner**." Lindsay made sure her voice was loud enough to travel and Danny laughed. She tugged the skirt into place before crossing to her dresser and rifling through her jewelry drawer in attempt to find the right earrings.

Danny came up behind her and rested his head on her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her waist. "How the hell did sixteen sneak up on us?" he whispered into his wife's ear, studying their reflection in the mirror. Lindsay let out a triumphant "HA!" as she found the studs she was looking for and began to put them in her ears. Her eyes met his in the mirror and she shrugged. "It didn't really…we had that big case the week of her actual birthday, then there was the streak of delinquencies that have _stopped_," she looked pointedly at Danny as he rolled his eyes and he flashed his heart-melting grin that still had an effect on her, "and she was grounded for three weeks, so that brings us to today."

Danny nodded slowly, letting Lindsay turn and search for her shoes without actually letting go of her waist. "Still, this _is _her Sweet Sixteen party. Although, I know if my parents had waited until **two months** after my actual birthday to throw a party," his voice lowered until Lindsay had to strain to hear, "that I don't know about," he stepped back and let Lindsay step into her pumps, "I'd probably think they'd forgotten about me."

Lindsay turned to face her husband, smiling. "Which is why this will come as such a surprise. Besides, March is a much nicer month to throw a party in than January, especially with all this nice weather we've been getting." She cocked her head, calculating. "Are you shrinking?"

"I can't find my shoes." Danny grinned apologetically. "I was kinda hopin' you knew where they were?"

An exasperated sigh was his reply and Lindsay pointed to the closet door. "They're where you put them last time, remember?"

A wave of remembrance crossed Danny's handsome features and he dove under the bed to come up holding a shoe in each hand. At Lindsay's astonished expression, he shrugged. "I never put my shoes in the closet." Standing, he kissed his wife on the nose before sitting on the end of the bed to put on the offending items. "I still love you, dear."

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "You're a moron sometimes, you know that?"

Danny stood, shrugging. "Hey, you married me." He spread his arms, a cocky half-smile on his lips. "How do I look?"

Lindsay let her eyes wander over her husband's body, blushing as her eyes met his and his grin grew wider. "Not too bad, for the father of a sixteen year old," she couldn't help but tease and her snort of laughter did nothing to cover his groan. He pulled her into a hug, laughing, and they stood still for a moment, simply being.

"Ahem." A small cough caused Lindsay and Danny to look up in surprise to see Meghan standing in their doorway, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. Lindsay was instantly reminded of Mac, a pig, and tiger dung. _She's got to stop looking so much like her father._ "We gonna be late for this thing, or what?" Meghan pushed herself off the doorframe, shaking long strands of brown hair from her face. Lindsay nodded, going to her daughter. "Yes, we're going." She hugged Meghan briefly, squeezing tightly for effect. "Thanks for being such a good sport, kiddo. I know how much you wanted to hang out with your friends tonight."

Meghan shrugged. "Nah, it's not a big deal. Jason will be there, so we can probably come up with our own entertainment." She bit her lip, holding back a grin as her father stopped in the doorway and looked at her, eyebrows raised. "Kidding, Pop, c'mon." She lightly punched his shoulder, winking. "Forget about it."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, sure." He pointed down the hallway, mock-severity on his face. "Walk."

Following her father's orders, Meghan waltzed through the living room, humming lightly to herself. Lindsay followed close behind, taking Danny's hand when they reached the front door. He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Ready?" he whispered, locking the front door behind them. Lindsay nodded and called to their daughter to hold the elevator.

---

"This isn't what I had in mind when y'all said NYPD Banquet," Meghan leaned between the front seats to study the glowing neon sign of _Tony's Italian_ as Danny pulled into a parking spot in front of the restaurant. "I'm guessing the governor's **not** gonna be here?"

"No shit, Sherlock." Danny laughed as Lindsay reached over and smacked him on the shoulder. "Danny, watch your language."

"Yeah, Dad, don't be a smart-ass." Meghan was smart enough to dodge her mother's hand and she vaulted out of the crime lab's standard SUV, wrapping an arm around her father's neck as he climbed out of the truck as well, laughing. "You, sir, are a bad influence."

Lindsay snorted, as Danny's face took on an expression of mock-hurt. "**I'm** a bad influence?" He scoffed, looking at his wife incredulously. "Did you hear that?" He glanced at his daughter over his glasses, blue eyes sparkling. "Have ya looked at the company ya keep lately?"

Meghan took her arm from its place on her father's shoulders. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Okay, you two, let's not fight tonight, please?" Lindsay threaded her arm through her husband's, and pulled her daughter to her in a one-armed hug. "You're right, this isn't an NYPD dinner. But the restaurant was your father's idea, _so give him some credit_," she whispered to Meghan and the young woman grimaced. "Yeah, yeah." She pushed open the doors, grinning. "Technically, Dad insulted himself, because I haven't been out of his sight since I got over my **probation**."

Danny stopped, thinking, and nearly got hit in the face with a glass door. "Hey!" he yelled, barely throwing his hands up in time to block the door. Meghan laughed and turned to escape into the warm atmosphere of the familiar restaurant. She stopped stock still when the reason her parents had been so secretive for the past month caught her sightline. She felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop open, all smart comebacks rushing out of her mind in one strong gust of wind. "Happy Birthday, Meg," her father's voice piped up in her ear and she felt tears spring to her eyes.

"**SURPRISE!**" The strength of the cheers caused Meghan to take a step back, bumping into her mother. She took a deep breath and burst into hysterical giggles, joining in the laughter of her "family". "Did you guys call the whole crime lab, or what?" she muttered to her parents and Lindsay smiled. "Just the people who have watched you grow from a baby on Danny's shoulders to a young woman who's almost taller than I am."

Meghan looked at her mother over her shoulder, brown eyes shining with tears and excitement. "So, pretty much everybody, then?"

Lindsay pulled her daughter into a hug, nodding. "Yeah. Pretty much everyone."

The three of them made their way through the tables to the back of the restaurant, where Meghan was immediately pulled into a hug by her godmother, Stella, and had her hair ruffled by her godfather, Don. She hugged Peyton and even kissed Mac on the cheek, laughing as the usually stoic CSI blushed. "Happy Birthday, kiddo," Mac said, his voice louder than usual to get over the sounds of the party.

"Thanks, Mac," Meghan replied, smiling. She turned to see Marty Pino and Adam Ross, clapping her hands. "I'm honored! I get reps from the morgue and the techs! Sweet!"

Adam's face creased in a smile as he handed her a pair of sunglasses that looked like her father's regular pair of lenses. "So you can glare at me over a pair of glasses like your old man," he explained to a confused Meghan and she complied with the famous Messer grin, searching for her dad. "They're perfect!" she threw her arms around Adam's neck, laughing. "Thanks, Adam."

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Marty handing her a card. "This is from Sid. He said he's enjoying his retirement, and wanted to get up here, but was 'detained'." he told her, his fingers making the infamous quotation marks sign, and Meghan's eyes grew wide. "I'm afraid to open it."

"Meghan!" Lindsay had overheard the comment and Danny laughed when Lindsay told him what their daughter had said. "Well, I would be, too!" Danny pushed his glasses up with a knuckle and took the card from his daughter. "With Sid, you can never tell."

A quiet chuckle from behind them made Meghan duck under her father's arm to come face to face with Sheldon Hawkes. "Hey, Hawkes!"

"Happy Birthday, Meg. Sorry I'm late, just finishing some paperwork." He pulled her into a warm embrace and Meghan returned the gesture, smiling. "Not a problem. My parents haven't started fighting yet, so you didn't miss much."

"Hey!" A reproachful look from both Lindsay and Danny caused the whole assembly to break into applause and laughter, making Meghan beam. She looked around the crowd, her face falling briefly as she failed to locate one face in particular. "You okay?" Hawkes asked softly, and Meghan shook her head, clearing her thoughts, before pasting her smile back on. "Yeah, I'm fine! This is great!" She bit her lip as Hawkes raised his eyebrows, reminding her that he saw everything, and the momentary loss of happiness hadn't been lost on him. "It's just that, I don't see Jason."

"Ah." Sheldon nodded knowingly, his warm brown eyes sparkling. "I'm sure he's here somewhere." He stood on tiptoe, attempting to see over the crowd. Meghan bit the inside of her cheek and searched as well, when a sudden shrill blast made everyone shout with pain and turn their eyes to where Flack stood on a table, beaming. "Now that I've got everyone's attention, it's time to bring out the cake and sing to the birthday girl." He spotted Meghan in the crowd and waved her over. She was pushed from all sides by invisible hands and soon found herself next to the table the tall detective was occupying. Flack reached down his hand and Meghan took it, shrieking as she was hoisted onto the table with to her godfather. "Now, don't laugh, because when I heard this, I did, and he wouldn't sing anymore." Flack announced to the crowd and Danny grinned at his daughter's bemused expression. Suddenly, the whole establishment went dark except for a single spotlight focused on the kitchen doors and the crowd went quiet.

"_Happy Birthday to You,_

_Happy Birthday to You; _

Meghan clapped a hand to her mouth in surprise as Jason stepped out of kitchen doors, wheeling before him an enormous cake that had the words "Sweet Sixteen, Meghan!" inscribed in blue frosting on a white background. Jason's gentle baritone flooded the room and Meghan could feel Flack swelling with pride at the excellent quality of his son's voice.

"It's the Irish in him," Stella whispered to Lindsay, and the other woman laughed quietly, staring at the young man in the green dress shirt, whose eyes were focused solely on one person.

_Happy Birthday, Meghan Marie, _

_Happy Birthday to You." _

Jason's eyes never left Meghan's and she blushed as he bowed low, a warm smile playing about his lips. The lights came back on as soon as they had turned off and the whole New York Crime lab erupted into cheers that made Jason grin self-consciously. He left the cake in the care of Tony, the restaurant patron, and wound his way through the crowd until he reached the table Meghan was standing on. Lifting his arms, Jason smoothly helped Meghan down from her perch, setting her gently on the floor. "Happy Birthday," he whispered and Meghan shook her head, giggling. "Thanks. That was amazing." She blushed as she realized her hands were still on his shoulders and Jason smiled, brining his head closer to hers. "Hey, Meg, listen, I was wonderin'…"

"Jason! Come help me for a sec, will ya?" Don's voice cut over the noise in the room and Jason rolled his eyes, grinning. "Hold that thought," he told Meghan, pulling away from her and going to his father. He turned to look at her from across the room, and her breath hitched when their eyes caught. _What was he wondering?_ _Dammit, Flack._

"Looks like you found him." Hawkes' gentle voice cut into her thoughts and Meghan rolled her eyes. "Yeah, thanks for the update." She looped her arm through his, nudging him with her shoulder. "Did you know about that?"

Sheldon nodded. "We all did. It was Jason's idea." He winked at her. "He cares a lot about you, you know."

Meghan opened her mouth but no words came out. She stared at him, dumbstruck and Hawkes nodded slowly. "While you process that information, I'm going to go get a drink." He patted her hand while he pulled free of her and Meghan closed her mouth, still mute. A hand on her back made her start and she blinked a few times before meeting Danny's smiling eyes. "Hey, we're gonna eat. C'mon." He gently guided his daughter to a large round table, seating her between two empty chairs. "You look like someone just hit you on the back of the head with a very heavy object," Danny informed her, and Meghan looked up at her father. "Close, detective, but no cigar." She watched as Danny took the seat to her right, and Lindsay took the chair to the right of him. "So who's here?" she asked, gesturing to the empty space to her left.

"Is this seat taken?" A familiar voice made Meghan smile and she looked up to be greeted by warm green eyes. "Nope, it's all yours," she replied softly, ignoring her father's snort, which Danny quickly hid in a cough. Jason pulled out the chair and slid into it quickly, looking up to see Mac across from him, observing quietly. Jason nodded to the older man and Mac smiled as Peyton whispered something in his ear, her eyes focused on the pair of teenagers across from them. Leaning to his right, Jason gently touched on Meghan's hand to get her attention. "I think they planned this," he whispered and Meghan nodded, smiling as Stella sat next to her son, followed by Don on her left. "How do ya figure?" Her eyes sought his and Meghan shrugged, bringing her chin to her shoulder. Jason grinned toothily, biting his bottom lip. "Elementary, my dear Watson," he replied and Meghan giggled, shaking her head. Jason gazed at her a moment longer before turning to stare at the red-checked tablecloth, still smiling.

"Look at them," Hawkes whispered to Don. "They're perfect for each other." Flack turned to the man to his left, considering. "Mac's bettin' twenty bucks on two weeks. Care to up the odds?" He pulled out his little black book, blue eyes wide with the challenge and Hawkes looked about him for a moment before leaning in and muttering, "I'll go three weeks."

"Excellent." Don made a notation in his book, a large flourish accompanying his grin. He tucked the book back into his jacket pocket, nodding to Hawkes. "Pleasure doin' business with ya."

**A/N: **_Whew! I had to split the party into two parts, so stay tuned! _


	5. Blast from the Past

"Look at this soup. Pasta Fag-ee-ol-ee?" Jason smirked as he showed his menu to Meghan and she shook her head. "God, Jason, you're awful. It's _Pasta Fagioli_." She pronounced it _"fajole"_ with an accent that would have put a native Italian to shame and Jason looked at his menu before raising his eyes to look at Meghan sarcastically. "It's not spelled that way."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Okay, it's official: There's no way you're Italian."

"I am too! I'm just not as Italian as you are. Forgive me for being ethnically diverse!"

Meghan stared at him for a moment before breaking into laughter so hard, no sound came out. A slow smile started to creep across Jason's face as he watched Meghan's head drop onto the table, her back heaving from the silent gales of mirth. He looked around the table slowly, thanking God when no one else seemed to notice the girl next to him. He glanced at Meghan out of the corner of his eye, choking as he struggled to hold back his amusement. As her giggles subsided, she looked up at him from her place on the table, her face red from her glee. "Remind me to bring that up the next time you tell some blond idiot that you're totally Irish," she gasped and Jason broke into laughter as well, setting Meghan off again. The two of them leaned on each other, gulping for breath. As soon as one would stop, the other would break start anew and they'd both be off again. Meghan eventually sat back in her chair, holding her abdomen. "My…stomach…hurts…" she panted and Jason nodded, biting his tongue to calm the spasms racking his body. The two of them exhaled slowly and shook their heads. Meghan took a sip from the water in front of her and nearly choked as she caught the final bit of Stella's conversation with Peyton.

"…So, eventually Danny and I figured out that our vic had killed Lindsay's vic and the boss of the both of them killed our guy, and they were all these martial arts gurus. And there really was a footprint on the ceiling!" Stella looked up to see Meghan staring at her with wide eyes and she nodded, smiling. "Hey, Danny, you remember that case, right?"

Meghan turned to look at her father, who was nodding. "Yeah. The San Gerrano one, right? With the crazy bar lady and the pool hall?" He caught Meghan's wide eyes and smiled. "What? I told you about this one. The guy was found dead at the San Gerrano with a piece of a pool cue in his heart, so we trace him all the way back to this one pool hall, and the place is in **shambles**." Danny had his elbows resting on the table and he was gesturing with his hands to emphasize his point. Lindsay smiled as everyone at the table became drawn to her husband and she nodded along with his story, remembering the case. Danny turned his head to look at everyone around the table and his eyes met Lindsay's; he smiled and took her hand in his, still talking. "I mean, there's glass everywhere, and Stella's lookin' at me like 'What the hell happened here?' And I'm just lookin' around, 'cause it's a mess. Well," he glanced at his daughter and she smiled, egging him on, "This crazy lady pops up and tells us that they're closed, like the wreckage everywhere is just a side-note. So Stella and I ask her what happened, and she feeds us this story about psycho kung-foo fightin' businessmen in nice suits, jumpin' off the ceiling and every other place, and, at this point, I'm thinkin' the tequila in her hand is severely affectin' her judgment."

Danny stopped to take a breath and his eyes sparkled with glee at the expectant looks on his friends' faces. He took a sip of beer to wet his throat and continued, "So we go to get our kits and I'm still thinkin' this lady's crazy, but we look up, and there's a shoe print in the paint on the ceiling." He laughed at the astonished expressions on Meghan and Jason's face and nodded. "No kiddin'. So, we process and figure out that **our** vic is responsible for killin' Mac and Lindsay's guy," he turned to his boss, "with this freaky lookin' sword. So Mac had to practice with all these Japanese weapons, and I remember walkin' past reconstruction and Linds looked scared out of her mind because Mac had this **huge** sword in his hands and this look on his face. Ya know what I mean," Danny smirked around the table as everyone nodded and Peyton laughed into Mac's shoulder, "It was the look he gets right before someone gets put away for life. It was amazin'." He smiled at his wife as Lindsay leaned her head against his shoulder.

Meghan turned to Jason, laughing at his incredulous look. "I told you Mac was a bad ass with a sword."

"Well, I knew that," he scoffed, poking her in the ribs, "But the footprint on the ceiling is unbelievable."

Meghan nodded and jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Come here, I want you to see something," Lindsay pulled her daughter away from the table and beckoned Stella and Peyton along with them. Danny watched the women go, shaking his head. "It's always been that way, Danny, you know that." Mac surveyed the younger man and Danny shrugged. "Yeah, I know. Women with their secrets, us with our beer." He looked at Jason briefly, "And Coke."

The table erupted into laughter as everyone began talking at once and Jason took a deep breath. "Hey, Danny, can I talk to you?"

Danny peered at the young man over his beer mug before setting the glass down and nodding. "What's on your mind, Jase?"

Jason held his breath for a moment before leaning forward. "Danny, I've just noticed that a bunch of guys have asked Meghan to prom, and she's turned them down, and I was just wondering if, uh, I could, umm…" he stopped for a moment before sitting up straight and clasping his hands in front of him. He looked straight into Danny's eyes and the older man sat back at the sudden courage he saw there. "Mr. Messer, I'd like to your permission to take your daughter to our Spring Formal."

Danny was taken aback for a moment. He licked his lips and looked at his hands, thinking. His protective fatherly instinct had immediately taken over the minute Jason had mentioned the dance, but as Danny surveyed the young man over his glasses, he had to admit that he admired Jason's resolve. Danny could remember being sixteen and asking a girl's father for permission to date her. Being young and reckless, Danny hadn't really ever taken no for an answer, a trait he regretted now that he was a father himself. Boys didn't ask permission anymore, though, and Danny couldn't help it that he had developed a nasty habit of showing his badge and gun to any male talking to his daughter, which frustrated Meghan and Lindsay alike. But Jason not only knew that Danny and Lindsay were cops, he knew of a whole list of people that could hurt him if he hurt her.

"Listen, Danny," Jason moved into Meghan's chair, his green eyes pleading. "I know I don't have the best record, and everyone told me not to hold my breath," he grinned weakly as Danny's eyebrows raised in agreement, "but I like Meghan. A lot."

Danny nodded and looked at Jason before letting out a long breath. "I admire the fact that you asked me first, Jase, I really do. And I guess I could let you take her, on the basis that I know you'll make sure she's okay the entire time. I mean," he smirked and Jason smiled back, "You are a cop's kid." Danny held up a finger. "But if you even **think** about tryin' anythin' with my daughter, I'll kick your ass. And I mean that as your godfather, with your best interests at heart. Got it?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah, I'd have to say that's fair."

Danny snorted and took a swig of his beer. "Fair?" He took off his glasses and cocked his head. "Hell, Jason, at this point, it's the best offer you could ever get." He waved the boy away. "Now, go find Meghan and ask her, before I change my mind."

Don watched as his son thanked Danny profusely before running off to find Meghan. Flack took another drink of his beer before getting up and moving around the table to sit next to his best friend. "Thanks for understanding, Danno."

Danny replaced his glasses on his nose, pushing them up with a practiced knuckle. "He's a good kid, Flack. I just hope she says yes." He smiled weakly. "I remember what it's like to be turned down by someone I really cared about."

"Yeah, they remind me of you and Lindsay too." Don held up his hands at Danny's dumbstruck face and laughed. "Or I could be wrong, you never know." He clapped his friend on the back. "Whatever, thanks for letting him. He's been stressing over this for weeks."

Danny nodded and went back to nursing his beer. "Sure, no problem." He didn't look up when Flack left his side to talk with Mac and suddenly Danny felt very tired. The day Lindsay had agreed to go out with him, on an actual date that didn't involve bugs and that she didn't stand him up for, they had just gotten back from Montana, and they hadn't even made it out of her apartment. Emotions had collided and he had woken up in her bed with scratches that left scars on his back. They had known after that moment that it was "'Til death do them part" from then on. Danny's head shot up from his beer as he realized the truth to Flack's words.

"Oh, shit."

---

**A/N:** _Hate me if you'd like, but I couldn't be nice and let you see what Meghan says now, could I? NOPE! Anyway, reviews are appreciated, as always. _


	6. The Morning After

The moment Meghan regained consciousness the next morning she wished she hadn't. There was a dull ache in the front of her skull that refused to disappear, and the light shining in through the curtains wasn't exactly the first thing she wanted to see. She groaned and rolled over, pulling a pillow over her head in resistance. _I should call Jason; see if he's in this much pain._ She vaguely wondered if the feeling she was experiencing was more of a migraine or a hangover when her previous thought hit her like a freight train. She gasped, shooting straight up in bed. "Jason!" Meghan swung her feet out from underneath the covers, smiling in triumph as her feet touched floor. She stood up…

…and promptly fell to the floor as her knees buckled from underneath her. She landed on the ground with a thundering crash and groaned as her hip jarred against the wood floor. "Yeah, hardwood in all the rooms, not a good idea," she muttered as she struggled to once again become upright. A sound from the direction of her bedroom door made her look up in surprise and she saw her father watching her, glasses-less, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Join me for water and aspirin?" he asked, and Meghan nodded, standing slowly. She followed Danny down the hallway and into the kitchen, hoisting herself onto a countertop. Danny rummaged around the cabinets, pulling out a mug, two glasses, and a bottle of Motrin. He filled the two glasses with water from the tap, handing Meghan one glass and the bottle. "Issue the meds, pretty please," he mumbled, reaching to the coffee pot to pour some of the steaming liquid into his mug. Meghan wordlessly handed him two Motrin, which he downed in a single swallow, followed quickly by a gulp of water and then a swallow of coffee. "Yeah, that's good," he told his daughter, smiling. Meghan raised her eyebrows over her water glass and took a hefty drink, downing her own two pills. She watched her father ingest some more coffee, wrinkling her nose.

"How can you guys drink that?"

Danny set his mug down, wiping his top lip slowly. "Well, we put the rim of the mug to our mouth and tip the cup so the coffee hits our lips, and then we open our mouth and swallow…"

Meghan flung a dishtowel at him, laughing. "Seriously, Pop. That's some seriously gross matter."

Shaking his head, Danny heaved himself upon the counter next to his daughter. "Well, it comes in handy if you've got a hangover, or a night shift at the lab. Your mom likes it a little weaker, but I find that plain, black coffee keeps me awake for hours." He grinned at her and Meghan couldn't help but grin back. "So, do you have a hangover or a shift?"

Chuckling, Danny pulled her in to a one-armed hug. "Hangover, I'm sorry to say." He groaned, running one hand over his face. "Thank God I'm off today."

"Mom's on shift?" Meghan asked and Danny nodded, yawning widely. Meghan watched him, amused, before remarking, "I didn't know you had your tonsils removed."

Danny pushed her off the counter, smirking as she slid to the floor gracefully. "Shut up." He watched her twirl around the kitchen floor for a moment before he cocked his head and reached for his mug. "So, what's your illness, Ms. Messer?"

Meghan stopped twirling and grimaced. "I think it's just a headache, but some of last night is coming back to me, and I must have been drunk for most of it." She looked up at her dad warily. "Do you remember karaoke, or is that just me?"

Danny studied her for a moment before grumbling, "I remember." He smirked. "Jason does a wicked impression of Bryan Adams." He softly hummed a few bars of 'Summer of '69' as he took another sip of coffee.

"Don't say wicked, Dad. Please?" Meghan sat in the middle of the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. "You and Mom weren't so bad yourselves. I didn't know you even knew who Garth Brooks was." She rocked back and forth, giggling. "I have to say, 'Squeeze Me In' definitely raised some eyebrows."

Danny shrugged. "I do what I can." He yawned again. "So, what did you say?"

Meghan stopped rocking, staring at her father. "Say what?"

Danny peered over his mug, blue eyes sparkling. "When Jason asked you to the dance. What did you say?" He chuckled at the look on Meghan's face and shrugged. "You sang a duet with him later, so it must not have been too awkward."

Meghan felt a small smile creep across her face as she remembered that particular moment. "I thought Mom told you?"

---

_Several hours previously: _

"That's totally not me," Meghan shook her head, laughing. "No way."

But the affirming giggles around her proved her wrong, and she squinted at the picture of a smiling Mac holding a squirming bundle in his arms. "I was fat!"

Lindsay laughed, hugging her daughter. "You were two." She cocked her head. "Mac was so scared he would drop you, he insisted Danny be there, just in case he needed to pass you off, but you just looked at him with those big brown eyes and he actually laughed." She looked at Peyton for confirmation. "Didn't he?"

Peyton nodded, smiling. "He wouldn't give you up for the rest of the night. You rode on his shoulders for the whole party, looking extremely pleased with yourself."

"That's when someone made the comment about you having Danny's smile," Stella piped up, resting her chin on Meghan's shoulder. "Linds, you just laughed as Danny kept getting Meghan to smile, just to see for himself." Stella's eyes sparkled as she laughed. "Eventually, we just waited until the right moment and took a picture, showing it to Danny as proof." She shook her head. "That was his desktop for the longest time."

Meghan bit her lip, blushing. "Dad's a dork." She moved to another picture, laughing. "Is that Don Senior?"

Stella looked as well, smiling sadly. "That was few months before he died. Dora, Don's mom, wanted to get a three-generation picture." She sighed, staring at her husband's happy face. "Jason was so tiny then." She gently touched the miniscule bundle in Don Sr.'s arms, grinning as Lindsay wrapped her arms around Stella's shoulders. "Gah, look at this one." Stella pointed to a third picture and Lindsay threw her head back, laughing. "Now **that's** fat!" she choked out, moving slightly as Meghan pushed forward for a closer look. "No, that's me!" she teased her mom, slipping her arm around Lindsay's neck. Lindsay patted the arm, nodding. "Yes, that's you. Jason was about three months old then, so I was about eight months pregnant?" She giggled, holding a hand to her mouth. "I remember the mood swings being so bad that Danny would call my mother in the middle of the night, nearly in tears, asking what to do."

Stella snorted. "He called me once and begged me to come and help. Apparently, your mom was in such a rage that Danny was afraid to look at her. I get to the apartment, and Danny answers the door, a little breathless, his shirt hanging off his shoulders, and tells me that it's fine, everything's under control." Stella smirked at the horrified look on Meghan's face. "I won't elaborate."

Meghan nodded. "Thanks." She grimaced. "I don't think I wanna know."

Lindsay turned to her daughter, smiling. "We tell you this to prevent pre-marital pregnancies." The four of them laughed and Lindsay shook her head. "Ask your dad, though. He wouldn't take back a moment of it." She bit her lip and motioned to Peyton and Stella. "Let's go get something to drink." She patted her daughter on the cheek, winking. "Someone wants to talk to you."

Meghan turned, confused, to see Jason standing there awkwardly, his hands in his pockets. _Thank you, Mother, for being so intuitive._ "Hey, Jase," she greeted him with a warm smile and the three older women giggled before rushing to the bar for alcohol. Meghan blushed and sank into a booth motioning to the pictures on the wall. "Just reminiscing. Well, they were, 'cause I don't remember any of it." She bit her lip. "What's up?"

Jason sat next to her, nudging her with his hip so that he could get some room. Meghan laughed and scooted obligingly, holding her breath as their thighs touched. He cleared his throat and clasped his hands nervously in front of him. "I think Marty's gonna pull out the karaoke machine later," he told Meghan, laughing at the shocked look on her face. She put her tongue between her teeth, smiling. "Somethin' tells me we're gonna get pulled up on stage."

He nodded, biting his lip. "Yeah." The two of them sat in comfortable silence for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Jason took a deep breath and Meghan looked at him questioningly, almost losing her breath as his emerald eyes caught her gaze. "You remember how, before, I wanted to ask you somethin'?" he asked slowly, and she nodded with a small smile. "Well, I was wonderin', before, if you'd want to go to the Formal with me, and I'm still wonderin', it's just that now I'm askin' if you'd want to, and well, do you want to?" he finished quickly, biting his tongue in embarrassment.

Meghan stared at him and ran her tongue along her bottom lip, thinking. "Go to the spring dance with you?"

"Yeah." Jason was mentally beating himself for not being smoother. _Way to uphold your lady-killer reputation, man._ He braced himself for rejection, looking at his hands as he waited for the no that was coming his way.

"Sure." Jason's head whipped up to see Meghan's eyes smiling gently at him. She laughed at the dumbstruck look on his face and moved closer to him until they were inches apart. "Why do you think I turned down so many guys?" she asked quietly and his blinding smile made her grin self-consciously. Jason let out a slow breath and closed his eyes. "I figured…well, I mean, that's what I thought…" he was cut off as he felt a hand on his arm and saw Meghan peering up at him. Swallowing, Danny's words came back to him, and Jason pulled back slowly. He caught the disappointment in Meghan's eyes and he shrugged apologetically. "Don't want to give your dad reason to kill me," he gave by way of explanation and she rolled her eyes.

"God, Jason, my dad—"

Microphone feedback cut her off and they yelled reproachfully as Marty held up his hands, quieting the disgruntled crowd. "Sorry 'bout that, Adam was playing with the frequencies." A shout from behind the stage made Marty grin. Meghan laughed and looked up in surprise as Jason clambered out of the booth and offered her his hand. She took it and slid out of the seat, watching Marty as the pair of them made their way over to their parents.

"Okay, so Mac told me to set this thing up," the Giants fan beamed beatifically at the older CSI and laughed into the mike, "so you better grab someone who's willing to embarrass themselves with you, or get some guts, because I didn't put up with Adam's whining for nothin'." Marty's face crinkled into a grin as Adam yelled at him again and Danny laughed loudly. Meghan glanced at the group of adults and saw Mac staring at her with an expectant look on his face. She grabbed Jason's hand and wound her way towards the stage, pulling him along.

"Party for Two?" he whispered into her ear as she took the mike from Marty amongst the hoots and catcalls from their parents and friends, and Meghan smiled sweetly.

"Elementary, my dear Watson."

---

_Back to the present, around the same time Meghan's falling out of bed…_

Jason sighed contentedly, folding his hands under his head as he watched the light play across his ceiling. The happiness and the laughter of the night before hadn't quite faded and Jason grinned broadly as he hummed the chorus of what he now considered to be him and Meghan's song. He heard his parents in the kitchen, getting ready to leave for work, and he sprung out of bed, tripping over the pile of dirty clothes but catching himself just in time. _Who da man?_ He grinned again and sprinted to the kitchen, sliding across the linoleum and narrowly avoiding his father.

"Hey Pop, nice tie! Morning, Ma!" He skidded to a stop in front of the refrigerator and flung open the door, examining the contents carefully.

Stella leaned against the counter, rolling her coffee mug between her hands. She glanced at a smirking Don before asking, "She said yes, did she?"

Her son's head popped up over the fridge door, and she laughed at the ridiculously happy look on his face. "Perhaps," was his reply, and his head re-disappeared into the kitchen appliance.

Don clapped his son on the back, nearly sending the boy headfirst into a large plate of _baklava_ that Stella had made for last night's party. "Nice try, Jase," he teased his son, who quickly stuffed a piece of the leftover dessert into his mouth. "But you're showing all the signs of a very happy teenager, and we read people's faces for a living. Congratulations."

Stella kissed her son on the cheek. "Eat more than that for breakfast, hmm?" She grabbed her purse, following her husband out the door. "See you later," she called and Jason grunted a reply, reaching for the milk carton. "Get a glass," came his mother's voice and he nearly choked on the large bite in his mouth. _How the hell does she do that?_ Jason reached for a clean glass out of the dishwasher, poured a good quantity of milk for himself, grabbed a slice of cold pizza from the fridge, and traipsed into the living room to collapse on the couch. As he reached for the remote, he thanked God that his parents had to pull one of their rare Saturday shifts. He wanted to be alone with the floating sensation in his stomach and as he flipped channels, Jason couldn't help but smile. _She said yes!_

---

_I give you all warm fuzzy feelings, and a list of the songs mentioned. **Party for Two **by Shania Twain, **Squeeze Me In** by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, and **Summer of '69** by Bryan Adams. Any other songs you would have loved to see New York's Finest sing, go ahead and picture them singing. ;D _

_Anywho, reviews are loved, as per always!! Thanks for the love on the last two chapters, and keep on reading! Pretty please?_


	7. Young Love

_Alarm clocks are the devil,_ Jason thought as he struggled to unload his backpack into his locker and keep a cool head before the bell rang, a huge feat because he had three minutes. Jason tried to focus on what he was doing, but his mind wasn't letting him think about getting his books. His mind wanted to wander back to Meghan. Jason had caught a glimpse of her as he sprinted through the doors this morning after launching out of Don's squad car. She was wearing her hair in that way he liked – down and framing her pretty face and wide brown eyes that sparkled with glee at his late appearance. She had laughed at his uniform tie hanging around his neck and he had grinned widely at her.

Jason's eyes widened as the bell rang and he slammed his locker door shut, feeling his face burn. He hadn't ever been late for school before, but when he had woken to the sound of his parents' phones going off, he knew he was screwed over. He had skipped a shower because of his forgetfulness, and now he was going to pay for it by being tardy. _Great, just my luck._ He grabbed his books from where he had dropped them on the floor and took off running for his first class.

Skidding into a stop before the classroom door, he ran a hand through his dark hair before slowly opening the heavy wooden door and stepping inside. He squared his shoulders and handed his late slip to Mrs. Harding, not looking at anyone in the room as he made his way to his desk in the back of the room. He slipped into it stealthily and pulled out his notebook, ignoring the whispers and titters of his classmates.

"Jason!" Jason's head didn't lift as his eyes shifted to the right, looking towards the voice. His best friend, Michael Jakovich, gave him a wide-eyed stare and tugged lightly on his own Oxford shirt, then his tie, before resuming his note taking. Jason focused on the board again, feeling his ears go red with the knowledge that Mike was telling him to straighten up. Usually, Jason was the snappy dresser, chiding his friends on their sloppy appearance, but Jason knew that he was the one that looked terrible this particular morning. As discreetly as possible, he leaned back in his chair, stuffing his shirt into his khakis and pulling the tightening his tie around his neck.

A slight cough from the front of the room made Jason look up in surprise and his green eyes connected with Meghan's brown. She raised her eyebrows and flashed him a look that he couldn't help but grin at.

"Something funny, Mr. Flack?" Harding had turned from the board in time to see Jason smile and he shook his head quickly, resuming his focus. He'd have to deal with Meghan later.

---

"Flack, man, I **never** thought I'd say this, but where were you this mornin'?" Mike clapped his friend soundly on the back, laughing loudly as they left the room and merged with the usual hallway traffic. "Casey had the sweetest free throw I have ever seen, and Chris asked Erin to Prom." Mike shook his head, narrowly dodging some over-enthusiastic seniors.

Jason shook off his friend, craning his neck to look over the huddled masses. "I forgot to set my alarm. Just another reason I hate Mondays." Giving up on the particular direction he was looking in, Jason turned to look behind him. "It's good that he asked her. Chris and Erin, I mean. Now we gotta find you a date."

"Hey, thanks, but no thanks, man. The Yankees are playin', and I wouldn't miss it for a million bucks." Jason snorted at his friend's conviction. Sometimes, Mike reminded him so much of Danny that Jason wondered how much people thought he resembled his father. Perhaps he was destined to grow up around the same type of people all his life.

"She's over there," Mike's voice broke Jason from his reverie and Jason spun quickly, looking in the direction which Mike was pointing. Sure enough, Meghan was standing by her locker with some guy Jason couldn't place. She was smiling and laughing and Jason's heart tightened with jealousy. She wasn't supposed to be looking at any other guy besides him like that. He set off down the hall, determined to smash in the face of the punk who dared to talk to his girl.

Meghan smiled brightly when she saw Jason and she quickly said her good-byes and swerved around the other guy. Jason didn't get a good look at his face as the kid walked away, and he really didn't want to. If it were someone he knew, it would have been harder for him to beat the crap out of him.

"I saw that," was her only greeting as she swung her light brown hair over her shoulder and Jason cocked a curious eyebrow. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talkin' about," was his retort and Meghan rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed. Her smile, however, gave her away, despite the sarcastic tone in her voice. "So you weren't just lookin' for me, just now, then?" She shrugged and turned her back to him. "Fine. I'll go waste my time with someone else."

"All right, you caught me." Jason grabbed her arm gently, stopping her in her tracks. "I was lookin' for you." The hopeful look on her face when she turned around made his heart soar and he stepped closer. "I, um, actually wanted to ask you…"

"Yeah?" Her voice was a little breathless and he bit his lip in a sudden rush of lust and testosterone. _Damn school._

"Did you get the homework?" The question popped out of his mouth before he knew it and he was helpless against her indignant shriek and punches. He held up his hands in a giving-up gesture, and she stopped, pouting. "You're cruel to me, you know that, right?"

"Oh, and keeping me up until midnight on Messenger and not reminding me to set my alarm wasn't evil?" He playfully nudged her shoulder with his arm and glanced at the clock above them. "C'mon, I'll walk you to class."

"Not evil. Never evil. I would say clever. I was seeing if the pure want to see me would be enough to wake you. Obviously, it wasn't." Meghan wound her way through the fray and Jason grinned at her words. He brushed his hand against her back, feeling the small shiver run up her spine. "I was too busy dreaming of you," he whispered into her ear and Meghan blushed. "God, you are such a sap." She stopped in front of a door. "This is my stop."

"And I'm that way." Jason pointed from whence they had come and Meghan smiled. "I guess I'll see you at lunch then."

Jason winked and began walking down the hall backwards. "I shall be counting the seconds."

Her clear laugh followed him all the way to his next class and he practically skipped into the Algebra room. Mike turned to look at him and Jason shrugged. After all, the feeling in his stomach was hardly explainable and he didn't think Mike would understand true love anyway.

---

_So, there you are… a bit of fluff for you. There was a bit of foreshadowing in there, if any of you noticed it… maybe not, but all the more reason to stay tuned for the next chapter, hmmm? Anyway, I know it's short, but the next one will be longer, I promise!_


	8. More Than It Seems

"Meghan! Wait up." The deep voice carried across the basketball courts and Meghan felt like she was in a cheesy romance film as her hair swung over her shoulder, flashing in the late afternoon sun. A smile graced her features as she realized who was calling her name. She hoisted her backpack higher on her right shoulder and leaned against the court gate. She shielded her eyes with one hand and watched the tall young man cross the asphalt towards her.

Tommy Ryan was a heartthrob, to put it in laymen's terms. Wide shoulders, big, strong hands, handsome features, blue eyes that looked almost lavender, which were covered by a shock of deep brown hair. All this was complimented by a smile that lit up a room and a laugh that could be heard across a parking lot. Tommy was the fantasy of upper and lower classmen alike, and he knew it. He had a confident air to him that screamed street-smart. If only his grades exuded that intelligence. He hated school because of his inability to keep any class above a C+. "It's not that I don't get it. I just feel like I'm wasting my time," was Tommy's constant plea. Whenever he said that, his tutor would simply roll her eyes and be rewarded with that smile that made her breath go shallow.

Meghan had first met Tommy in freshman year, second semester. He had driven all of the other students insane with his lack of interest. Meghan, being her mother's daughter, wouldn't put up with such bullshit. She worked Tommy hard and didn't stand up for any crap. She even brought him to the precinct a few times, just to scare him into working. His smile reminded her of Danny and the way he looked when he was studying a particularly tough problem made her think of Hawkes examining evidence. She began to think of Tommy as the brother she never had, consisting of everything she loved about her "CSI" family.

Tommy fell in love. Hard. He brought up his grades to impress Meghan and make her happy. He got his greatest joy out of making her smile. But Tommy's father was a hardened criminal who had seen the wrong side of Don Flack's interrogation tables one too many times, and the final arrest of his father was too hard on the boy. Tommy kept a façade for Meghan, but in the darkness of his life, he sought more of a family. More people who would listen to him and understand. Meghan was his light, but she wouldn't understand a father who didn't love him and a brother who couldn't care less.

Tommy became a Tanglewood Boy.

At last, he belonged. But he knew about Meghan's cop father and affiliations with the goddamn NYPD. The last thing he needed was to be separated from her due to his choice of extra-curricular activities. So he always kept one grade miserable, just to have a reason to be around her. When the news of the sophomores being allowed to Prom came up, he had nearly cried for joy. Tommy had planned it carefully, waiting until the right moment to ask her. His chance that morning had been ruined by the arrival of Jason Flack and Tommy had to make his getaway quickly. Any Flack for a Ryan was bad news. But Tommy was determined. He had waited until that afternoon, when he knew she'd be alone. He wanted her to know that she was special to him, that she was the girl he had chosen to devote all his affections. As he saw her lean against the gate, he knew he was doing the right thing.

"You left kinda in a hurry this mornin'," he drawled, stopping a few inches away from her. Meghan flashed him a brilliant smile and turned to walk to a stoop a few feet behind her. She dropped her bag onto the steps and sat next to them, looking up at Tommy.

"Yeah, well, I had to get to class. Didn't want to be late for Geometry." She shrugged and bit her lip. "You offended by my perfect attendance record?"

"Me? No way!" Tommy teased, sitting next to her on the stoop. "I just thought your escort might have had somethin' to do with it."

Meghan blushed but said nothing. They sat in silence for a few moments before she rested her elbows on her knees and put her head in her hands. She turned to look at the boy next to, studying him. "Do you have to be somewhere today?"

Tommy shook his head, gazing back at her. He was fairly certain she was naïve to his Tanglewood membership. After all, her cop daddy wouldn't want her getting caught up with someone like him. Tommy had heard stories about the infamous Louie and Danny Messer. One thing was for certain: he didn't want to give Megan a reason to hate him. She wrinkled her nose and clasped her hands together. "Good. Let's go to my place and get started on the Chemistry homework. My mom off, she can probably help us." She stood to grab her backpack, but was stilled by a large hand incasing hers. She looked to see Tommy's smiling eyes and she sat back down, returning the grin. "What?"

"Before we go anywhere, I gotta ask you somethin'." He took a deep breath and steeled himself. _Now or never man. Just get the balls and do it!_ "You wanna go to Prom with me?" Inside, Tommy was congratulating himself upon the coolness with which he had delivered that fateful line. His jubilation was shortcoming, however, when Meghan's face fell and she diverted her eyes to the ground, which had suddenly become very interesting. "Meghan? Did you hear me?"

She looked up quickly, biting the inside of her cheek anxiously. "Yeah, I heard. Oh, Tommy, I'm so sorry, but someone already beat you to it, and I said yes to him." She shook her head and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "If you had asked me Friday after school, it could have worked out, but seeing as how Jason already asked me…"

"Wait, you're goin' with **Flack**?" Tommy couldn't keep the disbelief and anger out of his voice and Meghan winced. "Well, yeah… I don't know why that's so surprising…"

"Hey, Ryan, what the hell are you doin' here?" Jason's voice rang out loud and Meghan winced again at what she and Stella jokingly referred to as "The Cop Tone." A no-nonsense air that Danny, Don, Mac, Hawkes, and Jason adopted when something was really pissing them off. Tommy's eyes narrowed and he stood up quickly.

"Yeah, Flack, real tough. I got as much rights to be here as you do. You might wanna be careful with that tone, though. You do realize your daddy's not here to protect you?" His hands balled into fists reflexively and Jason took a step forward, green eyes flashing. Meghan stood between the two boys, her arms extended like a boxing referee.

Jason smirked. "Dare I say likewise?" He didn't miss the rage flash through Tommy's eyes at the suggestion and he crossed his arms triumphantly. "Get outta here."

Tommy opened his mouth to argue, but shut it again quickly when he realized the odds of the situation. Everything was against him. He scoffed, shook his head, and turned to go. "Talk to ya later, Meghan," he muttered and Jason took a step forward, looking down in surprise as both of Meghan's hands landed on his chest. Her brown eyes were wide with a stern disappointment as she said, "Yeah, see ya," without taking her eyes from Jason's. She didn't break apart from him until Tommy had turned the corner and then she stepped away from the tall boy quickly, hitting him in the shoulder with as much anger as she could muster. "Why do you have to be like that? We were just talkin'!" Her accent grew thicker with every word and Jason flinched, rubbing his shoulder.

"You don't need to be talking to a guy like him," he muttered, not meeting her eyes. A snort of derision made him look up in surprise and he dodged another blow quickly.

"A guy like him? Jason, you and him are more alike than you know." Meghan crossed her arms, her look severe. "You sayin' I shouldn't talk to you?"

Jason gaped at her for a moment before his own anger bubbled to the surface. "Oh no, him and I are way different. Startin'," he gestured angrily in the direction Tommy had departed. "with the tattoo difference. Or haven't you seen the ink on his shoulder?"

But Meghan brushed his accusation off easily. "A lot of kids around here have art, Jason. It's how they fit in." Inside, her heart was pounding. If Jason was suggesting what she thought, it could mean the end of her friendship with Tommy Ryan, and that would be a problem. She could not, would not, believe that Tommy would stoop to that level when he had someone like her keeping him sane. But Jason's words ripped through her defenses and broke down her walls of denial.

"Yeah, it's real easy to fit in when you're part of a gang. He's a Tanglewood Boy, Meg!" Jason wasn't prepared for the hurt that clouded her pretty face and he certainly wasn't ready for the storm clouds in her eyes. Meghan glared at the taller boy, pushing him back with her hands.

"Shut up." The command came out colder than she meant it, and she backed away from him slowly, shaking her head. "You're wrong," she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. Jason looked at her helplessly, biting his lip. "I wish I was, Meghan. I really do." He took a step towards her. "I just don't want you to get hurt…"

"Do you want to protect me, or do you want to keep me for your goddamn self?" The words came out so biting, Meghan bit her tongue to keep from saying more. Her fiery temper had come from Lindsay, just like her now almost inarticulate accent came from Danny. If she wasn't careful, she was going to say something that would really hurt Jason.

But looking into his eyes, she had the sneaking suspicion that she already did.

"I've never really had it put in that perspective, but that works." Jason's voice was soft and he turned to leave without a single glance back. "You shouldn't protect the criminals. They'll bite you in the ass." His parting words echoed around the courts and Meghan stifled a sob. She couldn't believe that she had been so happy not eight hours before. Now, she wanted to curl up and demand that the world leave her alone. _Where's a good advice columnist when you need one?_ she thought, reaching down to grab her backpack. That thought spurred her actions, and she took off in the direction of the NYC Crime Lab, determined to find the person who could talk her through this issue and still have her feeling good about herself.

From behind a trashcan across the street, Tommy had witnessed events unfold. He felt like a puppet master, and the show was going out of his control. If there was one thing Tommy hated, it was losing control. He had felt it when his mother died, when his father had been put away this last time, and when his brother had left their aunt's for good. It was time for Tommy to take matters into his own hands, starting with the one person who had taken away one of his two sources of happiness: Jason Donald Flack.


	9. Their Own Personal Shrink

_So long live the car crash hearts_

_Cry on the couch all the poets come to life._

Meghan had walked up and down the hallway outside of Mac's office for a good fifteen minutes, waiting for him to get off the phone. She knew he knew she was there; the man's office was made out of glass, after all. But he was the boss, and she had learned from a very early age that bothering Mac could mean possible death. Still, that didn't keep her from pacing impatiently. A tech brushed past her to give an important looking folder to the detective and Mac looked up to receive it, his eyes connecting with the anxious young woman in the hall. A barely perceptible nod of the head, and Meghan slipped in through the glass door, flopping down on the leather couch that sat across from Mac's desk with a sigh.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" Mac asked kindly, his eyes briefly studying her before returning to the case file in front of him.

Meghan huffed and covered her eyes with her hands. "What do you do when you're in a fight with someone, and you know on some level they've got to be right, but at the same time you think that they're wrong and being completely ridiculous?" She sat up and braced her elbows on her knees, running her hands down her face.

Mac smiled softly. "Have you talked to your parents?" He jotted down a note on the piece of paper in front of him, glancing up to see Meghan grinning at him.

"Funny," she quipped, ignoring the statement. "Okay, say I have this friend who's kind of a troubled kid, but he's a good kid nonetheless." She stood up and began to pace, and Mac leaned back in his chair, watching her with just his eyes. "And I have this other friend, who doesn't like the first kid very much. Well," she stopped, placing her hands on her hips, "they really kinda hate each other, in a way. Anyway," she resumed her pacing, "The second kid picked a fight with the first kid, to _protect me_," Meghan made a sarcastic gesture and Mac smiled at her annoyance, "But I didn't really see why. Then the second kid says that the first kid is a Tang-" Meghan caught herself, smiling sheepishly at a very calm-looking Mac. "Well, he says the first kid's in a gang. I don't wanna believe him, but it seems possible. And then I yelled at him, and said some really mean thngs." She flopped into the visitor's chair. "Does that make sense?"

Mac looked down at the napkin, which had notes on it that he had taken, to help him remember. Meghan could never be a cop, because she hated name-dropping, and her stories often got so muddled that she couldn't keep things straight. But she had a clear mind and a good sensibility, and Mac knew she wouldn't be in his office unless she really needed help.

"So, what you're saying is," he surveyed her quietly, "the first boy is being accused of having gang affiliations by someone who cares about you, and you're afraid that it may be true, but you don't like the way the accuser went about his accusation."

Meghan grinned toothily. "Say accusation one more time."

Mac raised one eyebrow. "Do you want my help or not?"

"Sorry." Meghan shrugged and leaned back in her chair. "Yeah, that all sounds about right."

Mac nodded, staring at the napkin. "I'm going to have to plug in names here, Meg, to help me with the story."

He didn't miss her wince and raised his eyebrows. "Okay, how about this. Do I know either one of the boys?"

Her silent look made him nod. "Okay, so Jason is the second boy?" He looked up for confirmation and Meghan nodded slowly. "And the first boy is someone you have been helping, maybe with school?" He thought for a moment, and then wrote a name on his napkin. "Your mother told me you were tutoring a boy named Tommy Ryan?"

Meghan snorted. "I hate living with cops." She cocked her head, looking at Mac blankly. "How'd you guess I was helping him?"

"Your tone of voice, combined with the way you described him. You gave away the fact that he was troubled, but good, which implies some level of intelligence." Mac cleared his throat. "So Jason doesn't like Tommy and thinks that Tommy's in a…gang," he finished after a slight pause and Meghan shifted uncomfortably, nodding again.

"I see." Mac leaned back in his chair, folding his hands in front of his face and peering at Meghan over his hands. "May I ask what brought about this argument?"

"Jason heard Tommy asking me to the dance and got jealous," Meghan said quickly, avoiding the detective's eye. Mac nodded knowingly and then leaned forward on his desk, bracing his elbows on the glass.

"Tommy Ryan is a Tanglewood Boy, Meg. Several times officers have reported that they have seen him with a group of them hanging around. He hasn't been pulled in for anything yet, but he is a member." Mac shook his head. "Jason was right to want to protect you."

Meghan bit her lip. "I know. And it kills me that Tommy's a Tanglewood Boy." She looked up at Mac helplessly. "But did Jason have to be so mean about it?"

"Of course not. He probably just got a little flustered, seeing you in a potentially dangerous situation like that." Mac stood up and walked around the desk, placing a hand on the girl's shoulders. "I'd forgive him, if it were me. You two are far more intelligent than to let one disagreement pull you apart." He smiled down at her. "Ask your parents about the Vodka Queen case sometime."

Meghan crooked an eyebrow. She knew the story of how Danny had been turned down by Lindsay. Stella was her godmother, after all. "How'd you know…?"

"Remember, I hear everything." Mac patted her shoulder. "Now, don't you have a major test tomorrow?"

"Friday," she mumbled, standing. "Thanks a lot, Mac." She wrapped her arms around the older man's neck, giving him a brief hug before scampering to the door and slipping out, walking quickly down the hall.

Mac watched her go and turned to look back at his desk. If Meghan was around a Tanglewood Boy, he should let Danny know. Mac nodded to himself and walked around his desk to make a note to himself.

He looked up as the door to his office creaked open and smiled at Jason standing there.

"Was that Meghan?" the young man asked, biting the inside of his cheek as he leaned against the glass door, hands in his pockets.

"It was," Mac confirmed, looking back down at his paperwork.

"So I'm guessing you're aware of the problem and my part in the whole thing?"

"I do. I also suspect that it wasn't entirely your fault, due to how guilty she looked when she mentioned that she had yelled at you."

Jason nodded. "So…you gonna tell me how to fix it?"

Mac looked up from his paperwork, eyebrows raised and Jason sighed, reaching for the door handle. "I thought not."

"Good luck," Mac called as the young man walked down the hall and Jason raised his hand, not turning around. He needed to find Meghan and he needed to find her soon.

---

_This chapter is dedicated to SleepyGoof07._

_Lyrics to **Thriller** by Fall Out Boy. _

_:D Reviews, anyone?_


	10. The Waiting Game

_I could learn to pity fools, as I'm the worst of all_

_And I can't stop feeling sorry for myself_

"No, I haven't seen Meghan, and yes, I'm positive." Adam Ross didn't bother to look up from his petrie dish when Jason walked into the lab and Jason through up his hands in frustration, green eyes sparking angrily. "How'd you know I was gonna ask about that?"

Adam cast a knowing glance at the young man. "You are your mother's son."

Jason huffed and turned on his heel, throwing over his shoulder, "You are so weird."

Shrugging, Adam turned to examine the next piece of evidence. "Eh, I've had worse."

---

Meghan swiveled slowly in her father's desk chair, twirling a strand of brown hair thoughtfully between her fingers. Her eyes were out of focus; concentrating on a hidden object only she could see. She was so in-depth with her thoughts that she didn't notice when Sheldon Hawkes walked past the Messers' office. Backtracking, Sheldon observed the young woman quietly for a moment before knocking on the open door. Meghan jumped, refocusing her eyes. She smiled. "Hey, Hawkes."

"Hey yourself. Something the matter?" The doctor stepped into the office, leaning backwards against the doorframe. Concern creased his handsome face and he crossed his arms.

Shaking her head, Meghan rubbed her eyes. "Nope. Everything's fine."

"You're sure?" His dark chocolate eyes held a question and Meghan almost felt like a young child who had told a horrible lie. _That's not far from reality,_ she mused. "You seemed a bit upset when you came into the lab earlier."

"Yeah, I'm sure." She leaned back in the chair, feeling the reclining back give way underneath her. Still seeing the worry in Hawkes' eyes, she sighed. "Well, I was having a few issues with a friend of mine, but now that I kinda have everything figured out, I feel like an idiot."

Hawkes nodded thoughtfully before turning to go. "Yeah, well, the sooner you figure it out, the better. You can't hide in here forever."

"Because the guilt will slowly take over me and invade my every waking thought?" Meghan rolled her eyes. "Yeah, thanks for that."

Hawkes stopped at the door and turned to look at the young woman. "No, that wasn't what I was going to say, but it's true. What I was **going** to say was: Jason has already terrorized half the lab, and he'll find you eventually."

Meghan snorted derisively. "_Naturalment__e._"

Hawkes waved behind him as he disappeared out the door. "I want an invitation to your wedding," he called and was rewarded with Meghan's indignant shriek. Chuckling to himself, he walked down the hall on his way to the morgue to look at the victim that just came in. He turned the corner and was nearly tackled by Jason. The young man's emerald eyes, so much like his mother's, were frantic, and he grabbed the doctor by the shoulders, nearly shaking the older man. "Where is she?"

Hawkes shrugged. "Haven't seen her today, Jase. Sorry."

A strangled yell escaped Jason's mouth and he spun in a full circle before sending Hawkes a very dirty look. "I know you know where she is. Everyone in this god-forsaken lab knows where she is, they just won't tell me."

Hawkes had to bite his lip to keep a straight face as Jason took off running down the hall the way he had come. "Ah, young love," Sheldon muttered under his breath. "Talk not of wasted affection; affection never was wasted."

"Alexander Pope." Mac's voice came out of nowhere, but Hawkes barely flinched. He was too busy staring off in the direction Jason had come. "Do you think she'll let him find her?"

"If I know Meghan, she'll want to find him first. She's like her dad like that." Mac clapped the doctor on the shoulder. "Have you seen Sid yet?"

Smiling sheepishly, Hawkes allowed himself to be pushed toward the elevator. "I was just on my way there."

Mac nodded. "Sure."

---

"Hey, kiddo, you ready to get outta here?" Danny threw the case file down on his desk and snatched his jacket from the back of Lindsay's chair. Meghan stretched in his chair, smiling up at him. "Been ready, Dad."

Danny swung his messenger bag around his shoulders and handed his daughter her backpack. "Then let's go."

Meghan nodded and leaned into her father as the two of them walked out of the small office, down the hall, and into the elevator. Danny pushed his glasses farther up his nose with one hand while his other arm remained securely wrapped around Meghan's shoulders. He let her push the button to the garage and smirked faintly as she broke from under his protective arm, sinking to the floor of the elevator car. Danny watched her head fall onto her knees before thoughtfully staring at the metal doors.

"Rough day?" Danny's grin widened as Meghan's mumbled affirmation. "Yeah, me too. Anything in particular?"

"_L'oh il mio Dio, padre._" Meghan lifted her head and looked wearily at the ceiling. "It was just a crappy day all around. Well," Meghan rubbed her eyes, thinking. "It started out okay, then got steadily worse." She blew a strand of hair out of her face. "I'm just really tired."

Danny nodded understandingly. "I know how you feel, kid." He shifted his weight as the elevator came to a stop and held out his hand. "C'mon. Let's go."

Meghan grabbed her father's hand and pulled herself up, slipping out of the elevator doors before he could. Danny chuckled and shook his head. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the keys to his truck. "Hey, Meg!" Her eyes grew wide with happiness as he tossed her the keys and she stared at him in surprise. "You drive. I'm exhausted." Danny pushed up his glasses with his thumb as Meghan jogged to the truck and climbed into the driver's seat, woes of the day momentarily forgotten. He made a mental note to tell Lindsay about his moment of beatific fatherly love. Though the pair of them had connected the other morning, it had been a good month or so since Danny had really **talked** with his daughter. He could remember how close they used to be, laughing and joking like she was the son he had always wanted, but would never trade her for. Now she was becoming more of a woman than a tomboy, and Danny was lost. As he climbed into the passenger seat, he chanced a quick glance at his daughter next to him. Her hands were correctly positioned at ten and two, and she started the truck after a moment of revered silence, like she knew the truck was a tool to be used for one purpose alone, not some toy that could be fixed if she happened to wreck it.

_I can remember bein' her age. That's the scary part._ Indeed, Danny could remember sixteen, a time of young innocence and not-so-innocent ideas. It made him shudder, the things he used to get away with, and what frightened him more was that he knew Meghan was around the same type of guys every day. He knew he could trust Jason, despite the boy's reckless streak. It was the rest of the idiots, like the guy she tutored, that made Danny the most anxious. Who knew what that kid's parents did for a living, or what kind of friends he had. But Meghan seemed to like him pretty well, so Danny didn't really have any complaints against the kid.

"How's the tutorin' goin'?" The question caught Meghan off-guard and she nearly jerked the vehicle off the road. Her mind broke into immediate panic mode. _Shit. What did Mac tell him? Did Jason already find him and he's just bringing this up to trick me into saying something? What the hell? This is not good. Sooooo not good. _

"Good, I guess?" Meghan had to stare at the street ahead of her to keep her father from seeing the dread on her face. If Danny had heard she was tutoring a Tanglewood Boy, he'd kill her. Not that she had actually known that Tommy was affiliated with the gang that had killed her uncle, but she'd be dead nonetheless. She shut her mouth tightly and didn't say another word. Danny Messer was the type of man who could get **anything** out of **anybody**.

If Danny noticed Meghan's sudden silence, he didn't comment on it. He merely sat back and tried not to have a heart attack as Meghan drove them through the busy streets of New York in the late afternoon. When the truck pulled up in front of their apartment building, Danny scarcely had time to remove his seatbelt before Meghan vaulted out of the vehicle and up the steps. Curious blue eyes watched her go, and Danny shook his head, smiling. She must have something important to do, to move that fast on a nice day like this. Danny chuckled to himself. _Ah, Jason. What the hell have you done to my kid?_

---

"Hello?" Jason's voice was bleary. He had just learned from Lindsay that the girl he had been in search of for three hours had gone home, and he had collapsed into the visitor's chair in front of his mother's office to wait for Stella to get off shift.

"Did you talk to my dad today?" Meghan's voice was shrill, and Jason nearly fell out of his chair with the sudden blast of sound in his ear. He looked around him frantically, making sure no one had witnessed his sudden lack of cool, and shook his head violently, trying to stop the ringing in his ears. "Well, did you?" Her tone had become more demanding and Jason bit his lip to stop his own anger at being treated so unfairly come to the surface.

"No, I haven't talked to Danny today. Why?" His response came out a little more biting than he intended and he winced. The silence on the other end of the phone told him that Meghan was reacting in the best possible way to his answer, and he opened his mouth to apologize, only to be cut off.

"Are you sure? You didn't mention anything to anyone?" Meghan chewed on her thumbnail anxiously, all the while checking the door sporadically to make sure Danny was still in the kitchen. The last thing she wanted was the embarrassment of everyone thinking she and Jason were having some kind of lover's spat. She rolled her eyes and paced across her room to her desk, absently flipping through some old papers that cluttered the weathered wood.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Why? What happened?" Jason sat up a little straighter in his chair and balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder while he cracked his knuckles. A bad habit, but it was a familiar one, and he was a little on edge at the moment, thank you very much.

"Nothing. I was just wondering." Her reply was blunt and he sighed silently. She was still angry with him. That wasn't right. He should be angry with her for being so stupid, so annoyingly female. But the guilt was still making butterflies the size of pterodactyls in his stomach, and Jason winced at the sensation. He needed to say something to fill the awkward silence that had now come between them.

"Listen, Meg, I tried looking for you around the lab today after school. I wanted to talk to you. Mac wouldn't give me any advice, which I figured meant that I should just talk to you…"

"I thought you didn't talk to anyone about what happened?" The accusatory tone was back and Jason couldn't stop the irritation that welled up this time.

"Listen to the pot calling the kettle black! You were in there not five seconds before me!"

"Well, yeah, but you didn't ask me if I had talked to anyone only to have me blatantly lie to you!"

"I didn't blatantly lie, I just said…" Jason let out a growl of anger. Meghan was silent on the other end of the line, and she could feel her cheeks growing with shame. She really had no reason to be so angry with him. He had just wanted to protect her, after all.

"Meghan, I just wanted to tell you that I was sorry for what I said to Ryan this afternoon. I know you kinda like him," Jason clenched his teeth together to keep from exploding, "and I really shouldn't egg him on like that."

A small wave of affection for Jason Flack swept over Meghan, and she took a deep breath to apologize as well, when Danny's head poked through her door. "Hey, time to eat. Let's go."

She waved him out of the room and whispered, "Can't talk now, gotta go. I'll see ya," before hanging up quickly and slipping out of her room to the kitchen. The more normal she acted, the less questions she got asked, the better it would be for everyone in the long run.

Jason stared at the phone in disbelief before hanging up as well. He could've sworn she was going to apologize too, and then she ran off on him. Stretching, he slouched in the chair and rapped his fingernails against the arm of the chair. He had taken the first step, he had made the effort. All he had needed was for her to the same, and he'd be a happy man. But she had very-nearly hung up on him for all his trouble, and now he was just pissed off. _This is all Tommy's fault_, Jason decided, glancing, for the umpteenth time, at his mother working in her office. _I'm really starting to hate that kid_. Jason smiled to himself and leaned against the glass wall, closing his eyes. At this point, it was physically, mentally, emotionally (and any other type of way) impossible for him **not** to hate Tommy Ryan. Truth be told, Jason was getting sick of all the drama. If he wasn't careful, it was bound to kill him, and damned if he was going to go like that.

Now, it was just a matter of time before Meghan realized how miserable she was without the company of Jason Donald Flack, and all he had to do was sit back and wait. And Jason was very good at waiting.

---

_More FOB lyrics at the beginning, props if you know which song! Sorry this took so long, school's a bother and another name that's really not very nice. I promise, things will be more sped up in the future (I hope). _:D


	11. Frustration Nation

Danny observed Meghan over the tops of his glasses the next morning at breakfast. She seemed listless, almost like she wasn't in the same room as either of her parents. He nudged Lindsay, walking behind him to fill her coffee cup, and she nodded at his pointed glance. "Meghan? Something wrong, sweetheart?"

Meghan shook her head, still not focusing on the present. It seemed to her parents that she was love-struck, dreaming about a crush or precious boy. Danny smirked as he took the coffee pot from his wife, only to have Lindsay poke him in ribs as a reprimand. She had made her fun-loving husband promise not to torment Meghan with jibes about her relationship with Jason. Danny had whined for a moment, but all in all, he had taken it quite well, obliging his wife. Lindsay smiled fondly in the direction of her daughter before glancing at the clock. "Dan, we should get going."

Danny nodded, resting his elbows on the counter so he was directly across from his daughter. "Don't be late to school, m'kay?" When she didn't answer, he snapped his fingers in front of her half-closed eyes and Meghan jumped, blinking rapidly before coming back to earth. She glared at her father and slid off the barstool she occupied in the mornings. "Yeah, okay, got it, whatever." Meghan swung through the doorframe of the kitchen, rolling her eyes in annoying teenage fashion. Lindsay laughed and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "I'll see you after school, okay? Pick you up after last bell?" She tugged on Meghan's ponytail and the young woman's eyes brightened. "Sure! Sounds great, Mom." Being picked up at school was a rarity. Usually Meghan had to catch the subway to get to the lab, only to have to do her homework for a few hours while Danny or Lindsay finished up a case. Most of the time Meghan just joked around with Jason, playing pranks on the techs or procrastinating on an assignment.

_Jason._ If only her parents knew, Meghan thought as she watched the two detectives shut the apartment door behind them, how close they were to thinking she was love-struck. Lovesick was more appropriate. He probably thought she hated him, the way she had hung up last night. In truth, she had wanted to call him back, but Monty Python and the Holy Grail had been on T.V., and she had spent a the two hours before bed tormenting her mother while she and Danny reenacted the movie, making Lindsay laugh until she cried.

Picking up her bag, Meghan locked the door behind her and began the long walk down the hall towards the elevator. She had resolved last night, before falling asleep, that she would apologize to Jason for over-reacting the other afternoon, and maybe they could still talk about the dance, if he was willing. Meghan wasn't expecting any miracles, but she was holding out for forgiveness, which she knew Jason would be willing to give.

The minute she walked into the doors of school, her Jason-radar kicked in and she smiled. This was how it was supposed to be: the two of them searching each other out, not fighting over subjects that really didn't matter. She sighed a breath of relief when she caught sight of his black hair moving through the throng. His back was to her, and he seemed to be talking animatedly with that one guy, Mike, that was his name. She crept up behind Jason, hoping to catch him off-guard, so he would pull the two of them away from his friends. She was almost behind him, when she heard the conversation going on.

"Man, I think you should just forget about it. I mean, it's not even worth it." This came from Chris, another one of Jason's buddies that he was constantly throwing a football around with.

Jason shrugged. "I know, but I can't. I mean, it was a big deal, and now I feel like crap. I just can't believe she did that to me."

"Dude, she's female. Of course she would be a bitch about something like that," Mike piped up, clapping Jason on the back. "Just forget about it. You won't have to deal with it next year anyway."

Meghan's face fell and she could hear her heart break. _Jason was done with her._ That had to be what he was talking about: she didn't imagine boys complained about much else. She swallowed hard, trying to stop the tears that threatened to fall if she didn't get out of there soon. She spun and pressed quickly through the crowd, fighting back hysterics. Now was not the time: she would cry when she got home, when Lindsay would be more than happy to share that gallon of cookie dough ice cream in the freezer. Meghan slipped through the door of her Chemistry class, flashing a small smile at the group of girls she normally sat with. Her best friend, Erin Radford, shot her a worried look, but Meghan just laughed it off. Her façade would stay on as long as it needed to, until she could figure out what the hell she was going to do now.

---

Mike watched Meghan leave quickly, perplexed. She acted as though he had just ripped her heart out and handed it back to her in tatters. He shook his head, clicking his tongue. _Women._ He knew she had wanted to talk to Jason and Mike was all ready to cause a distraction that could let them be alone, but Meghan had run away before he could call her over, and he had no idea why.

Jason was still staring down in horror at his failed Geometry test. "Yeah. Thank God Mrs. Gleason teaches Algebra two next year. I can't deal with this anymore. I mean," he shook the papers before Mike's face forcefully, "Look at this shit! It's ridiculous!" He stared at the red 60 on the top of the page. "I won't use this in real life anyway." He snorted. "Can you believe Coach Medina wants to use some of these diagrams for basketball plays? It's ridiculous!"

Mike grinned and began to walk to his next class. "Yeah. Nothing can help your basketball game anyways, so maybe it's a good thing you don't get it. Don't want you to get more confused than you already are."

Jason grinned good-naturedly as the boys around him whooped and hollered, pounding him and Mike on the back. His best friend laughed at his expression and glanced at the clock. "Hey! Chemistry time! Hoo-yah!" Jason and Mike bid their friends goodbye and managed to slip through the door before the teacher closed it, blocking entrance to all other tardy students. Jason caught sight of Meghan's back and he felt a strange pain in his chest, something he couldn't quite place.

"She was looking for you this morning," Mike whispered before sliding into his seat, and Jason fought down a smile as he did the same. _Maybe she's forgiven me by now._ He turned discreetly, trying to catch Meghan's eye, but she seemed to be avoiding him. Her eyes met with his once, briefly, and Jason was shocked to find an immeasurable amount of sadness in the brown orbs. She bit her lip and ducked her head, but not before he saw the tears. Sighing, Jason turned back to the board. Clearly, things still weren't okay. He shook his head and began doodling absentmindedly in his notes. It looked like he'd still have to wait.

This was Tuesday.

Meghan spent the next two days in complete agony. She had five out of seven classes with Jason, which meant she spent most of her days on the verge of tears. At the coaxing of Erin, she told her friend what was wrong, which promptly caused such a rage in Erin that Meghan had to hold her back to keep the girl from going up to Jason and punching him in the face. Erin promised not to say anything to the boys, but that didn't keep her from shooting evil glances every time she saw Jason or Mike walking down the hall.

At home, Meghan was listless and quiet. The usually bubbly and effervescent girl Lindsay and Danny had raised was getting her first taste of heartbreak, and Lindsay did everything in her capabilities to make sure it was as painless as possible when Meghan retreated to the comfort of her parents' loving arms. Danny couldn't help but wonder if Lindsay had gone through the same kind of depression after he had made his first attempt at asking her out, but then it struck him that he hadn't ignored his wife when she had shunned him. He had tried to stay with her, tried to be there for her.

This made him consider telling Meghan that what she really needed to do was attempt to talk to Jason, thereby making things less awkward. "The less you know, the more you try to help," his mother had once told him. "In that, people will become secure in their trust of you." He ran this idea by Lindsay who immediately seconded it. Danny decided to let Lindsay offer the suggestion to their daughter. He didn't think he'd be able to tell his only child that she needed to attempt to rebuild the relationship between her and a boy. It was too much to ask of a father.

Meghan merely shrugged when Lindsay told her Danny's idea Thursday night when Lindsay came in to tell her daughter goodnight. Lindsay smoothed the young woman's hair back from her forehead, placing a gentle kiss there. "I would have lost your father if I hadn't let him back in," Lindsay whispered and Meghan nodded, not looking up from her homework. Lindsay left it at that, giving Meghan time to think over what she had said. Meghan glanced at the door when Lindsay shut it behind her before unconsciously letting out the breath she had been holding in since her mother had started talking about her making the first step towards becoming friends with Jason again.

In fact, Meghan had been contemplating being the bigger person since she had taken that first bite of ice cream. She knew that she couldn't stay miserable about Jason forever, and she would just have to face whatever obstacles came her way when it came to his happiness. If he chose to not talk to her at least she tried; if he wanted to stay friends, good for him; if he wanted another girlfriend, she might have to kill the bitch, but it would all be okay in the end. She had screwed this up, now she was going to fix it.

_Dammit, Tommy,_ Meghan thought as she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, _why'd you have to be so naïve. Didn't you know Jason would get angry?_

_That was probably his motive,_ the little voice inside her mind nagged at her. _He knew Jason would get protective, and you would get angry at Jason for being an ass towards him._

_Terrific,_ Meghan thought bitterly. _Now the one guy I want to talk to is mad at me, and the one guy I want to avoid is in love with me. It's so Days of Our Lives, I want to die._

_Tanglewood isn't helping either,_ the voice piped up again and Meghan groaned, rolling over. "Shit!" she whisper-screamed into her pillow. The next few days were going to be hell.

**A/N:** _ I know, I know, it's been FOREVER since I posted, and the stupid lack of messages was making me antsy, but here's another chapter! If you're confused, let me know… my muses are having a field day somewhere, and I'm stuck with writer's block. I know what I want to write, I just can't put it into word form. The lack of Danny/Lindsay action on CSI:NY isn't making me very happy either. _

_Thanks to everyone for their terrific reviews and support. I appreciate it so much, and remember that I always love to hear what you guys have to say. _

_Questions? Comment? Concerns? Funny jokes? _


	12. The Remedy

**A/N:** I know, I know, I haven't been writing in the longest time! I'm so sorry!! Here's a chapter that I've been working on for forever for everyone who's been waiting… (And once again, I'm really sorry!!!)

---

Friday morning Jason woke up with the firm realization that he was tired of Meghan not talking to him. He lay in bed for a full twenty minutes, listening to his radio inform him of an unusually sunny day and then play three of his favorite songs in a row. It had been three days, but even still… she was avoiding him and Jason wanted to know why. He understood that Tommy meant a lot to her, but he was a Tanglewood Boy! Meghan's entire upbringing should have taught her that was bad news.

"Jason! You're going to be late!" Stella stood in her son's doorway, arms crossed, looking stern. He grinned and placed his arms behind his head. "No worries, Mom... It's all good."

Stella pursed her lips and shook her head. "Up, Jason." She walked out of sight and down the hall towards the kitchen.

"I'm up, just not **up**-up," Jason called, scrambling out of bed to find his clothes. He heard a snort and he looked up in time to see Don walking past his room, a grin on his face. An identical grin crossed his lips as he searched for his tie. He located the article under his bed and quickly found the rest of his uniform. A speedy shower and several minutes later, he strode into the kitchen, head held high. "Hey, I'm gonna get a ride home with Mike today. "S'at okay?"

Stella peered at her son over the rim of her coffee mug. "So long as you call when you leave and when you get home, it's fine with me. Tell your dad so he knows."

Jason looked at his father for the nod of confirmation. Don shrugged and kissed his wife on the cheek. "Whatever. Let's go, Jason. I'm runnin' late."

As her boys left the apartment, Stella smiled and took another sip of coffee. She wasn't due in the office until nine, and the quiet of the whole house was too tempting to pass up. Sighing happily, Stella sat down to work on some paperwork she had brought back from the office.

---

Jason walked into the school's front gathering space with his Meghan-radar on full alert. He flashed his blinding smile at a few friends and high-fived fellow basketball teammates, all the while making sure he was on the lookout for his girl. Oddly enough, it seemed that no matter where he looked, Meghan just wasn't there. His heart around his ankles, he snuck into first period, head down. When he looked up to smile at Meghan in her front row seat, he was surprised to see Mike in it. His friend simply shrugged and motioned to the back of the room. Jason looked back to see Erin flashing him an evil glare and Meghan's brown head bent studiously over her notebook. Jason sighed and took his seat as the first bell rang. If she was already avoiding him this early in the day, it was going to be hard to get her to talk to him at all. _Yeah, she's definitely Danny's daughter. Pig- headed and stubborn to the core._

Meghan didn't look up when Erin nudged her, and she only bothered to raise her head when Mrs. Harding called her name for roll call. A carton of cookie dough ice cream and lots of sob time had given her a lot of time to think, and she had decided that she wasn't quite ready to be the bigger person. If she still got butterflies whenever Jason was around, it only meant that she wasn't ready to confront him about his lack of needing her in his life anymore. As she doodled angry faces on her morning journal entry, she grimaced at the teenaged angsty-ness of it all. _Being sixteen sucks._

---

At the last bell Mike nudged Jason with a gleam in his eye. "Ready to go?"

Jason sighed unhappily, but quickly hid it with a smile. "Let's get outta here, man." He grabbed his book bag and followed Mike out into the crowded hallway. The crowd was buzzing with the excitement of the weekend and Jason was able to look moderately happy with his life. They wound their way out of the fray, joking as they want. A shove to Jason's shoulder made him spin around. His eyes sparked as he spotted Tommy Ryan's back disappearing between two seniors. He ground his teeth, all ready to set off and beat some sense into the kid. A hand on the back of his t-shirt made him stop and he smiled at the intrusion to his anger. Mike led Jason to the student parking lot, distracting him with plans for their upcoming Saturday.

"Dude, I'm thinking all day Madden tourney, complete with incredible amounts of food. Then, we play basketball so much, we puke from the effort."

Jason cast a glance at his best friend, disgust written all over his face. "Dude, don't mind the video games, or the food, or the basketball, but puking is not my idea of a good time. Sorry…" There was an awkward pause before both boys burst into laughter.

"Hmm, it's amazing that some people can still be happy while ruining other people's lives."

Jason stopped so quickly that Mike nearly tripped headfirst in attempt to stay next to his friend. Erin stood in front of them, her arms crossed, and behind her: Meghan. Jason bit his lip as his eyes met Meghan's. His green eyes begged her to talk to him, to say something so he could pretend he had never been a jerk. She shrugged and looked away quickly.

Mike rolled his eyes. "Wow, bitter, party of one?" He stepped closer to Erin, clearly popping her personal bubble. "Why don't you let Meghan fight her own fights?"

"Why don't you stop sticking up for the backstabbing moron?" Erin's comment bit into the air between Meghan and Jason. He looked up quickly. "What?" Jason sidestepped Mike and Erin, going to Meghan immediately. "What's she talking about?"

Meghan licked her lips and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "I heard you and I aren't in the plans for next year. I'm just female, right? Bound to bitch and moan?" Her voice trembled with the last sentence and she pushed her way past Jason, sprinting for the basketball courts behind school.

Erin made to follow her friend, but Jason stopped her. "Allow me," he said before taking off after Meghan. Erin huffed in frustration and looked at Mike for an explanation. He just shrugged, smiling. It was about damn time.

---

"MEGHAN!"

Her name echoed across the empty courts in Jason's voice. Meghan stopped running and took a deep breath. Messers didn't cry… in public. Slowly she turned to see Jason stop in front of her, panting. "Hi," he said, bracing his hands on his head to get some airflow back into his lungs. _Damn, that girl can run fast._

"Hey," she replied softly, actually looking him square in the eye this time.

There was a pause for both of them to catch their breath, though Meghan was quieter about it. When Jason was sure his voice wouldn't shake, he faced her and said, "What's going on here, exactly?"

"What do you mean? I thought it was clear--" Meghan's sarcasm was tinged with a bit of confusion. Did Jason really have no idea that they were, for lack of a better term, broken up?

"Whoa." Jason held up his hands in protest. "All I know is, I was an ass about Tommy, we fought, we neglected talking about it, we didn't make up, and now you're not speakin' to me. Or lookin' at me. Or stayin' in the same room as me for longer than you have to. I miss us, Meg. Don't you?"

"Well, yeah, but…" Now she was really confused. "I heard you talking with those guys, and they told you to just forget about me and move on. That I wouldn't be part of your problem next year." As hard as she tried, Meghan couldn't stop the tears from creeping into her voice.

Jason's green eyes narrowed, thinking, then widened in astonishment. "You mean Tuesday? You thought I was talkin' about you?"

"Weren't you?"

"No! I would never… no!" Jason bit his tongue to keep from laughing outright. "I would never say that about you. Or let anyone else, either." Softly, he put his hands on his shoulders, as close to a hug as her body language would allow. "I failed my Geometry test. I think Harding hates me." He watched her visibly relax and he smiled. "That's all."

Meghan raised her eyes to Jason's face. "So, you don't hate me for the crappy things I said?"

"I could never hate you." Jason stepped back and spread his arms wide. "Is the emotion returned?"

Meghan smirked and allowed herself to be wrapped up in Jason's arms, his hug warm and comforting. "Yeah, I guess." She stepped back to give herself room to look up at Jason's face. "We still need to talk about Tommy."

"Ahh, yes. The asshole." Jason grimaced. "I really don't like him, Meg."

"The feeling's mutual, Flack." The deep voice was back and Meghan looked around Jason rapidly. Tommy was standing about eight feet away from them, looking extremely angry. He must have snuck up when they were talking, and Meghan had been so caught up in the moment that she hadn't noticed. Jason's eyes sparked again and he clenched his fists in the effort of not getting angry. He wasn't planning on screwing this up again.

"You know, Tommy, you're really not worth the effort, so… I'm gonna go." Jason smiled coldly at his competition and made to leave. A shout made him turn back, ready to fight anyone who dared mess with him. All he could see was Tommy's older brother Tony standing with his arms folded. He gave off a strong aura of cockiness and Jason almost smiled. _Such idiots._

"Jason Flack, is that you?" Tony asked, his voice mocking.

Jason shrugged modestly. "In the flesh, Ryan. You know, I'm surprised you're even out here on the streets. Word is my dad has had to call in your probation officer more than five times this month. That's a bummer, bro."

Tony's chest puffed out, and his shoulders raised in semi-prepared combat mode. "I hear you're pretty tough when it's one on one, Flack. Maybe you should try a little more of a challenge." He snapped his fingers and five thugs popped out of various alleys. Jason gulped. He was a good fighter, Mac had always told him so, but he was extremely outnumbered here. He slowly shifted so Meghan was behind him, shielding her from harm.

"What are we going to do?" she asked quietly, gripping the back of Jason's shirt. He tilted his head a little to the left. "Well, I don't really know. I'm extremely screwed right now."

Meghan scoffed. "Gee, ya think?"

Jason turned to look at her for a moment, wanting to give her a _Shut-up-and-we-won't-die_ look. That moment was his first mistake. When his face came back around, Jason's nose got an introduction with a rock hard fist and he fell to the ground, nose gushing blood.


	13. Making Choices

Meghan nearly bit her tongue in two to keep from screaming. Her hands, which quickly covered her mouth when the huge guy with no neck had come out of nowhere and broken Jason's nose, went to her brave protector on the ground, helping him up. Jason groaned and tenderly felt his nose; the appendage felt like it was on fire, and he knew there would be no "violent basketball game" excuse to cover this up.

"Lemme see, lemme see," Meghan muttered, pulling his hands away. She pursed her lips at the amount of blood coating Jason's face. "Oh, my God." Meghan's hands were trembling as she turned to Tommy, begging, "Please, Tommy, just let us go home. Let us go and no one has to get hurt… more than they already have."

Jason cast her an incredulous look over his injury, but Meghan only had eyes for the younger Ryan. Tommy was staring at her with such intensity Meghan **couldn't** look away. "I can't," he mumbled, eyes showing so much sadness and anger that Meghan could almost feel it herself. "He has to know that you don't mess with Tanglewood."

"You think I don't know that?" Meghan's voice was soft and she took a step closer to Tommy. "Please, just let us go. He'll never bother you again, I promise." A sound of discontent came from Jason, but Meghan pretended not to hear.

All eyes were on Tommy as he studied the young woman in front of him. He had wanted to beat Jason to a pulp, to prove to him that he didn't need his father to protect him, but now that Meghan was here Tommy didn't want her to get hurt. He could see it in her eyes: she cared for Flack more than she did for him. Slowly he took a deep breath and opened his mouth:

"Fuck, no. You ain't goin' nowhere." Tony's voice cut through harshly and Meghan jumped, fear etched across her face. Tommy she could persuade to have a heart; Tony was a scary monster that she didn't know how to control. "Don't listen to her Tommy boy… you give this half-breed Mick what he deserves." He nodded to two more thugs. "Grab the little bitch."

A roar of anger leapt out of both Tommy and Jason, but Jason reacted quicker. He tackled Tony to the ground, hitting the other man in the jaw repeatedly. Really, Jason was just aiming for anywhere that could get Tony to hurt. Strong arms hauled Jason off his prey and he saw stars as a guy who looked like The Rock united his stomach with his backbone.

Meghan did scream, then, and she fought madly to get out of the grip of the big guys on either side of her. They didn't seem too fazed by that, and she grunted in annoyance and frustration when the two men simply lifted her off the ground by her arms. "Jason, get up," she yelled, only to have a firm slap to the face knock her quiet. She tasted blood and clenched her jaw. "I would like to have you gentlemen know that my lawyer will be in contact," she quipped, silently relieved as they put her back on the ground. They didn't look at her and she chose to interpret their silence as fear. "Yeah, that's right. My lawyer will send y'all's asses to jail without a second thought. Violence and manhandling. You know, I could arrest you right now if I really wanted to--"

"Shut up," the gorilla on her left commanded and Meghan clamped her mouth shut. _No problem, Thor._

Meanwhile Jason was huddled on the ground, clutching his stomach and fighting a wave of nausea. He heard the slap to Meghan's face extra loud, like it had been magnified a thousand times. "You're gonna pay for that, asshole," he ground out. "You just made three major mistakes that I don't tolerate. One, you breathed in her general direction. Two, you dared to look at her. Three, you touched her. I don't put up with th--" he stopped short, whimpering in pain when Tony's foot connected with his rib cage.

"I gotta say, I'm not worried." Tony smiled down at Jason's heaving frame. He kicked Jason again, this time in the lower stomach and Jason cried out in pain. Meghan stood completely still, half afraid of the two boys on either side of her, half out of rage. Jason was down and Tony was still kicking him: that went against every honorable style of fighting she knew. She mentally crossed her fingers, praying so intensely that her lips moved silently.

Jason looked up from the ground, still clutching his stomach. His mouth was bloody, and there was a gash across his forehead, but he was grinning. "You will be," he spat out, getting rid of some of the blood in his mouth. "No crime goes unpunished," he quoted, satisfaction creeping through his veins as he saw the unrest in Tony's eyes. "I guess you know my dad's favorite saying just as well as I do."

Tony crouched down next to Jason, grabbing a fistful of black hair. He wrenched the young man's head back hard, wanting to cause pain. "What makes you think we'll leave you alive long enough to let you tell daddy?" he whispered, smirking.

Jason closed his eyes, thinking. If he kept up the smartass comments, Tony could kill him. Or worse, hurt Meghan even more. His eyes snapped open, meeting Meghan's. She was scared, that much was obvious. But she was also fighting mad, and he almost smiled. She was on the brink of freaking out. But as Jason looked at the twin Hulks flanking her, he felt his heart sink. She needed to get out of there now. "Let her go, Tony," he muttered, swallowing the blood in his mouth. "Let Meghan go and you can beat on me all you want."

"No!" Meghan's cry ripped through the tension-filled air, but Tony remained staring at Jason. "You'd risk death for a **girl**?" he asked skeptically. Jason didn't answer, preferring Tony to make his own conclusions. Jason's eyes swung around and met Tommy's with such force that he almost had to look away. The younger Ryan was watching the scene before him with the clear message that his soul was torn in two. Jason's pain was Meghan's pain and Tommy couldn't stand that. But Tony knew what he was doing, and Tommy had to trust family.

Suddenly, Tony burst into laughter. "You're unbelievable, Flack. First you don't want to fight, then you give it all you got, and now you want to be the hero. I gotta say, it's amazin'." He shook his head, smirking. "Amazing." Swiftly, Tony hauled Jason to his feet. "We'll leave you both alone."

Jason searched the older man's face for some sort of explanation. What made Tony let him go so quickly? A jab to his right eye knocked him back down again and he cursed in pain as he heard Tony walk around him. "That's a warning, Flack. Don't mess with my brother again. Let's go," he added and Jason heard multiple footsteps as the rest of the gang followed Tony Ryan out of the schoolyard.

Meghan waited for the last idiot to disappear before flinging herself in Jason's direction. Gingerly, she helped him up, wincing at his bloodied face. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

He chuckled, but the laugh turned into a grunt of pain. "Are you hurt bad?"

"I'll live," came the reply and Jason looked up to see her lip bleeding and red cheek. Tenderly, he took Meghan's face between his hands, examining her fat lip and swollen cheek. "Shit, Meg, I am so sorry."

She sniffed, grinning slightly. "It's not your fault." Meghan took his hands from her face, holding them for a moment before letting go. She gazed in the direction that the gang had run off in. "I just didn't think he would do that," she whispered, mostly to herself. Jason stayed silent, knowing that he had no part in her thought. He stepped back a moment, studying her. "You looked great fighting those two jerks," he said. She snorted. "You are such a dork, you know that right?" Sighing, she let her eyes run over his injuries. "We need to get you to a hospital. I bet you have a broken rib."

Jason shrugged, wincing. "A hug would make it better."

Meghan laughed, but she obliged him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Jason breathed in the scent of her shampoo and perfume. "I missed you," he breathed into her hair. Meghan let out a small sigh of consent. Jason looked up, making sure the gang wasn't coming back for seconds. Over her shoulder, he could see two teachers rushing towards them, yelling. "Brace yourself, kid."

Meghan turned around, wincing. "Great. Just great."

Jason wrapped his arms around her, sighing. "Maybe, if we're lucky, they won't call our parents, just the cops."

Meghan looked up at him, a sarcastic grin playing on her lips. "There's no difference with us, Jase."

As the principal rushed onto the courts as well, Jason realized what she meant, and his face fell. "Oh. Right."


	14. FUBAR

Danny was just finishing up some paperwork when his cell rang. The number was unrecognizable and he almost didn't answer it, wanting to finish up and get home to a peaceful night with his family. But some unknown voice told him to pick up the phone and be polite. He sighed and answered. "Messer."

"_Detective Messer?"_ It was a man's voice and Danny tensed. Where had he heard that voice before? "Yes, this is he."

"_Hello, this is Martin Williams, from St. Xavier's. I'm afraid there's been a problem with your daughter." _

"What?" Danny jumped out of his chair and grabbed his jacket, more than prepared to turn on the sirens to get over there if needed.

"_Yes, I'm sorry to say that she and another student were caught fighting this afternoon after school. Now, it is school policy to suspend students who fight--"_

"Wait, no, that's not necessary. My wife and I will be there shortly." Danny hung up the phone, to preoccupied to care about protocol. What in the hell was Meghan thinking? He sent Lindsay a quick text and locked up the office. A buzz at his hip told him that Lindsay was in the middle of something and could he please handle it? She would be home to talk to Meghan with him. Danny sighed and sent back, yes, he could. Without a word to anyone, he walked quickly out the front doors and onto the street.

---

"Jason. You may come in now." Principal Williams' voice floated out of his office and Jason grimaced at the nurse. "They're calling my number," he said heroically, making the twenty-something year old woman smile. Meghan rolled her eyes and continued her frantic pacing around the office. Jason eyed her warily as he stood. His chest was bare except for the bandage that covered the horrific bruise that spread from the middle of his stomach to the side of his abdomen. It stretched from under his pectorals to his right hip. Meghan couldn't believe that he could still breathe with that injury. His face was a medley of cuts and scrapes, not to mention the purple bruise on around his eye. He watched Meghan with his good left eye. "Meghan. Calm down. It'll be fine."

"How do you know? My dad is going to **kill** me! My dad is going to kill you! **Your** dad is going to kill you!" Her voice was shrill, accent thick, and Jason reflexively reached out for her. Meghan stopped him from embracing her, only grabbing his hands, twining her fingers with his. "Jase, you cannot tell anyone about Tanglewood. Not Williams, not your parents, certainly not **my** parents, not even Mike." Meghan bit her lip to hold back tears. "My dad would freak. I wouldn't be allowed anywhere near you, and--"

"Wait, why?" Jason's green eyes stared into Meghan's. "Why couldn't you see me?"

"Because you picked a fight with Tanglewood!" Meghan stepped away from him, hands on her head. "Oh, shit." Her eyes closed as she folded her hands in front of her face, pursing her lips against the place where her palms met. "I love that you fought for my honor and everything, but the fact that you **fought** with the guy whom your father can identify because of his Criminal Lineup Frequent Flier miles isn't working for me right now. My dad has worked his whole life trying to keep Tanglewood away from me and my mom, and you voluntarily bring them in. Hell, you gave 'em coffee and cake! You were Betty Crocker to those guys! Oh, my God…" Meghan let Jason guide her into a chair by the window. He stood in front of her, smiling a little. "Meghan," he said softly. "I have to leave you now. But I will be in there, and hopefully I'll be out by the time our parents get here." He smiled reassuringly. "And I won't mention Tanglewood."

Meghan nodded and turned to look out the window. She stared at the busy street that ran in front of the school, thinking about what her story for her father would be. Danny was going to be so angry, it scared her to think about it. Gently, she let her head fall against the cool glass, trying to relieve herself of the headache building in the front of her skull.

---

Danny was climbing the steps to his daughter's school when he heard his name yelled across the sounds of traffic. He turned to see Don Flack running up behind him, anger etched in the lines of his face. "What're you doin' here, man?"

"Jason did somethin' stupid." Don was never one to mince words and Danny smiled wryly. "Funny, so did Meghan."

The fathers stopped for a moment, looking at each other. As realization dawned on them, Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. "Great, just great."

The detectives marched into the school with the determination to punish on their minds.

---

"Ms. Messer? Your father is here."

Meghan stiffened. She hadn't thought Danny would get there so quickly. Jason wasn't out of Williams' office yet and she knew she would need backup for this. She heard her father's shoes on the shiny marble and her hands began to shake.

"Meghan? What's going on here?" Danny's voice was stern and cold and Meghan thought about pretending to pass out to kill time, but it would do her no good. Sadly, she turned away from the window, staring at the ground.

Time went in slow motion as Danny got a good look at his daughter's face. He heard Don's sharp intake of breath and Danny clenched his fists to keep from losing it.

The left side of Meghan's face was various shades of purple and blue, with a little red thrown in. Her eye was swollen shut with the heavy bruising and she had a split lip that was still bleeding. There were scrapes and cuts on her hands and knees where it looked like she had been pushed to the ground. Danny bit his lip, wincing as he tasted blood. He walked over to her, placed his hand on her chin and guided her eyes up to meet his. "Who the hell did this to you?"

Meghan shrugged, and leaned over to rest her head in her hands. A door opening to the right of the little group opened and Jason walked out, looking extremely sober. He caught one look of his father and godfather standing there and gulped. Don stared. There was a bruise on every visible part of his son's body. He realized he was shaking and he shoved his hands into his pockets to make himself stop. Jason held up his hands in a mock giving up gesture and grinned, a sad sight.

"Hey, you should see the other guy. Can you say 'FUBAR'?"

---

FUBAR stands for Fed Up Beyond All Recognition… thank you, Tango and Cash.


	15. For Every Action There Is A Reaction

**A/N:** _Just wanted to say how much I appreciate some of the nice things many of you have had to say for this story… As a young writer who's trying to figure out the world, fan-fiction in a safe harbor in a sea of abnormality and oddity. Your feedback always gives me warm fuzzies. Anyway, before I get sentimental, here you go:_

---

Don couldn't speak as he and Danny shepherded Meghan and Jason into the department SUV. Thoughts from, "I'm going to kill my kid," to "I want the guy that did this to my son and goddaughter to suffer," echoed through Flack's mind. He chanced a glance at Danny and saw that Messer was no better off than he. It could even be said that Danny looked worse. Immediately Don's heart went out to his friend. Having a son get beaten up in a fight was one thing; boys were hardy. For someone to have the nerve to attack Meghan was another thing. She was the darling of the crime lab. Don could think of at least five men who would kill for that girl, and one of them was a Marine. Taking a deep breath, Don focused on the road. These children needed their mothers.

Danny was focusing on deep, relaxing breaths. Jason's attempt at humor in the office hadn't eased the tension in the room and Danny's heart was still racing from the first glimpse of his daughter. He wanted the bastard that did this to his kid's head on a platter. Better yet, how about the whole guy's body in an interrogation room with Danny and his Italian temper? Yeah, that sounded like a plan that he could roll with. Reflexively, Danny clenched and unclenched his fists. Of course, he was also worried about Jason, but that kid was half-Stella and half-Don. He was practically a superhero, for God's sake. The only conclusion Danny could come to from Jason's injuries was that he had tried to protect Meghan. He had to remember to thank the boy generously when all was said and done. There was another matter to be considered. Who in the hell would attack two high school kids minding their own business? As far as he knew, Jason and Meghan were well liked throughout St. Xavier's. No one who could pick a fight with Jason would dare. The Flacks were too well known in this area of the city. There were the various gangs that hung around in the neighborhood, but none that didn't know Jason Flack. And no one was stupid enough. Unless… Danny's eyes grew wide behind his glasses with the unspeakable thought. _It couldn't be._

Jason stared at his hands in his lap, almost unable to recognize them. Blood spatter on the knuckles and dirt under the fingernails; it was like they didn't belong to him at all. He sighed and immediately held his breath at the rush of pain. Fire was ripping through his ribs and chest with the force of a thousand cannons. He closed his eyes against the unwelcome feeling and leaned his head back to rest on the seat. When the throbbing stopped, he opened his eyes and looked over at Meghan. She was watching the people go by in a blur as they passed and Jason had time to study her. He was surprised to see that it had started raining, negating the weatherman's forecast from this morning. Meghan's face was reflected in the window and Jason could see the sadness in her eyes. It was etched all over her face, in fact. Jason bit his lip in concern. Upsetting as it was to admit, the main cause for Meghan's grief was Tommy. He had turned on her when she thought he was a harmless friend. He had used her to get to Jason and he had allowed his brother to hurt someone Meghan cared about. Thinking about it made Jason clench his teeth in anger; Meghan must have been seething. Turning away from her, Jason found himself gazing at the back of Danny's head. He wasn't particularly looking forward to the ass kicking he was going to get when they all got back to the lab. Don was sure to ground him until he was senile, and Stella wouldn't be too happy either. She didn't approve of fighting. Ever. Thinking of his father and mother made Jason think of his godfather and godmother. Which got him thinking of Meghan again. Without meaning to, an enormous smile stretched across the young man's face. He highly enjoyed speaking to Meghan again, and the hug they had shared before they were herded into the principal's office had been full of promise and hope. Happily, Jason leaned his head against the cool window. The thought of Meghan's affection would keep him going when Don was on the brink of killing him.

Meghan could see Jason watching her in the reflection of her window. She saw him wincing with pain from his injuries, but she couldn't bring herself to turn around. She knew it was selfish to make Jason promise not to tell anyone about the Tanglewood Boys, but her fear of word getting out that Tanglewood was once again infiltrating the Messers' lives was greater than her fear of being a bitch. Besides, her bitchy side had been coming out more and more lately. No one would notice if it kept going for a little bit longer. Well, Jason would notice. Jason noticed everything about her. That was something that he and Tommy had in common: the two of them could read her easier than a children's picture book. Their easy knowing of her emotions made them trustworthy. But Tommy had severely violated that trust today. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that he had purposely brought Tony to hurt Jason. Tommy must hate the younger Flack pretty badly to want to do something like that, but Meghan still couldn't believe it. Was this all her fault? Was the fact that she had said no to Tommy when clearly they were just friends and Jason was the one she wanted to be with the cause of all this trouble? She thought back to the day Tommy had tried to ask her to Prom. Jason had been a pain in the ass, but that's the way the men in her life were when protective. It was her problem if he was being mean to her friends, not the other way around. Tommy had no right taking matters into his own hands. Anger welled up inside of her. She didn't approve of Jason's actions that day, but Tommy had taken it too far. She would be damned if she ever spoke to him again. If Danny ever found out that she had been hanging out with a Tanglewood Boy, even for the shortest period of time, she would be lucky if she ever spoke to **anyone** ever again. As the vehicle pulled into the NYPD parking garage, Meghan let out a silent breath. Her face was starting to throb painfully and she had a headache. Facing her angry parents _and_ godparents was not what she wanted to do at the moment.

---

Hawkes watched through the glass walls of the lab as Meghan and Jason were frog-marched to the interrogation rooms by Danny and Don. For a moment, it was if the world had stopped when his gentle brown eyes took in Jason's bandaged ribs and Meghan's swollen cheek. Lab rats stopped and stared at the foursome, all of who seemed to be oblivious to the stares they were receiving. Sheldon gently placed the evidence he was examining on the table, peeled off his gloves, and exited the room, following the troupe at a reasonable distance. He had watched Meghan and Jason grow up in these halls, and he wasn't about to see them die in them. As he turned the corner, he witnessed Lindsay and Stella catch sight of their injured children and the result was both comical and distressing. Lindsay went quiet and calm, her lips pressed into a single, firm line. Stella, on the other hand, got loud and angry, wanting to know what had happened. Don simply motioned everyone into the cold steel room and shut the door none-too-gently behind them. Hawkes waited until he was certain he was not the focus of attention before running to get Mac.

---

"_**WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" **_

Don exploded. He couldn't help it. Lindsay and Stella were standing in the wings, still out of the loop, while Danny stood next to him, arms folded, blue eyes sparking. Jason suddenly became very interested in the tabletop while Meghan studiously examined her hands. At their silence, Don became very frustrated, slamming his palm on the table. Both the teenagers jumped and stared at him with large, frightened eyes.

"Don!" Stella placed a warning hand on her husband's arm. "Whatever they did, it can't be as bad as all that."

"Oh, really?" The detective looked at his wife with a maniacal glint in his eye. "Stella, today your son got in a fight with a bunch of boys who beat him to the bloody pulp that you see before you. _On school property._ Not to mention the fact that instead of going home with Mike, he was found behind the school, playing around on the basketball courts."

"With your daughter," Danny cut in, still staring at Meghan. Lindsay came to stand next to her husband, disbelief on her face. "Meghan is that true?"

"Kinda… yeah…" Meghan chuckled nervously. "But it's not like we were doing anything really **bad**. We were just talking… like we talked about, Mom."

Lindsay had to bite her tongue to keep from smiling reassuringly at Meghan. "Oh. And you were just attacked from out of nowhere?"

"EXACTLY!" Jason yelled, looking relieved. "Lindsay, you have no idea how many times I have told everyone that. They just decided to pick a fight with us!"

"Jason, I have such a hard time believing that--" Don could barely finish his sentence, so Stella took over. "Because, sweetheart, you aren't exactly innocent when it comes to stuff like this."

"Mom, I turned over a new leaf after my last grounding. Remember?" Jason batted his green eyes, so identical to his mother's. "I would never purposely fight. I didn't even **fight** this time, technically."

"It's true. He was very gentlemanly about the whole thing. Minus the whole getting beat into the dust," Meghan said, grinning at her godparents and cracking open her split lip. Stella took one look at the blood forming and burst into hysterical giggles. Lindsay joined her friend in laughter while Danny and Don looked on helplessly. "What is so damn funny?" Danny asked as Lindsay clutched her sides.

"They both look so pathetic, you can't help but feel bad," Lindsay explained. "Besides, Jason brought Mac down when he turned sixteen. The kid could have fought if he really wanted to."

"But that doesn't mean punishment isn't in order." Stella wrapped an arm around her perplexed husband's shoulders, casting the teens before them a stern, lawful eye.

"Two weeks, no arguments." Don straightened his tie professionally. Jason gaped at his father, dumbstruck.

"Two weeks for not fighting when I should of, but three weeks for spray painting? That doesn't even--"

"Promisthenightafteryougetungrounded, _do not argue_," Meghan mumbled out of the corner of her mouth and Jason quickly smiled. "Works for me, Pop."

"A week for you, young lady." Lindsay smiled sweetly at a confused Danny. "Prom is in two weeks. We need to find a dress and other such things."

"And I got beaten up too, remember? Victim, not suspect!" Meghan hopped up from her seat. "I need ice."

"And a bandage." Jason stood up a little slower. "Mom, I hurt."

"I know, baby." Stella gently pushed her son out of the room. "Let's get Peyton to look at those ribs, hmm?" Meghan and Lindsay followed, leaving Danny and Don standing alone and feeling like idiots.

"Do you ever get the feeling that we are unimportant?" Don asked and Danny shrugged. "Nah. I just think they know we're hard asses, so they don't mess with us."

Don sighed and exited the room. They might as well go with that theory.

---

Mac watched the two families leave interrogation and he smiled reassuringly at Hawkes. "I told you Lindsay and Stella would save the kids."

Hawkes smirked and slipped Mac a five-dollar bill. "Fine, you do know your employees better than I know my co-workers. Works for me."


	16. The Life He Was Given

The next morning, Danny climbed out of bed earlier than usual, being careful not to wake a sleeping Lindsay. He dressed quietly, sweatpants and an NYPD t-shirt, grabbed his keys and phone from the dresser and slipped out their bedroom door. Halfway down the hall, he stopped to check on Meghan. She was sleeping with her face towards the door, on her left side, just like he liked to. Danny could see the bruising on her cheek in the early dawn light and he sighed deeply. He could see those injuries forever and never get used to them. Shutting her door gently, he went into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. While waiting for the hot liquid to finish dripping into the pot, Danny surveyed the room around him. It was a small apartment, one that had taken them little time to find. Lindsay had been eight months pregnant when they had signed the lease and moved in. Three bedrooms, two baths, and a beautiful view of the Hudson; Lindsay had been sold immediately. They had put Meghan's room on the east side, so the morning sun could wake her. Danny had rolled his eyes at the sentiment, but was grateful for Lindsay's sensibility when they could put their baby daughter to bed early due to the lack of sunlight on that side of the house.

Danny smiled thoughtfully as he reached for a mug in the cupboard. The wood floors in the apartment had scuffmarks from little feet in new, shiny shoes learning how to get from point A to point B. There was a chip in the kitchen counter where Meghan had tripped and fallen, banging her front teeth on the wood. She had to get braces for three years for that one. The blood drops in the living room floor from when Danny had been roughhousing with a ten-year-old Jason and Jason had head butted him, giving Danny a bloody nose. The pencil marks on the doorjamb in the master bathroom marked each time Meghan grew an inch. The bookcase in the living room held at least ten photo albums from that first fateful year Lindsay had come to work in New York until Meghan's latest birthday. Everything in the apartment held evidence that a happy family had made a life there.

A life that might not have been his, Danny mused, had he not gotten out of his neighborhood in time. As it usually did when he was alone and reminiscing, Danny's mind drifted to Louie and the gang that had ruined his brother's life. Danny took a deep sip of hot coffee, relishing the burn as it slipped down his throat. The pain was a reminder of the heartbreak he had felt the day Louie's coffin disappeared into the cold ground. Lindsay had cried into one shoulder, his mother into the other, while Danny merely stood and watched, feeling colder as Louie got farther and farther away. The service after had been small, but Danny could remember the doorbell ringing and his mother answering. There had been some low, angry words exchanged, after which Maria shut the door in the visitor's face. Danny was surprised, but not too terribly. It might have just been a salesman; someone who didn't know what tragedy had taken over the lives in the house. Danny watched as Lindsay inquired about the person, but his mother had merely shaken her head and said something Danny couldn't hear. Lindsay came back to him, but she seemed distracted. Danny was too grief-stricken to think about it too much.

It wasn't until they were at home, lying in bed, that he remembered and asked Lindsay about it. She seemed to shrink and told him to forget about it. At his insisting, however, she revealed that a man named Seamus Ryan had come to the door, wanting to pay his respects. He had been drunk and Maria had refused him entrance. He didn't take it well and almost pushed past her when he saw Don Flack walk past the open door. Ryan had then backed down, telling Maria that the neighborhood of Tanglewood sent their condolences.

Danny set his now-empty mug down on the counter, staring down the microwave. Even in death, Tanglewood was controlling Louie. Sonny might have been in jail, but that didn't mean he couldn't reach out and hurt others. Danny cleared his throat and picked up his keys again. He was long overdue for a rather important visit.

Soon the only sounds in the apartment where the sleeping breaths of Lindsay and Meghan Messer.

---

"Hey, Louie. Sorry about not comin' the past few months. Life's been a mother, you know?" Danny squatted down across from the marble gravestone that marked the spot where his brother lay.

_Louis Dominick Messer._

_Born July 12__th__, 1972. _

_Died May 27__tth__­__, 2005._

_A loved son, brother, and comrade. We miss you._

Danny gently brushed away some leaves from the top of the gravestone and sat down in the cold grass. "It hasn't been work so much as Meghan. Lemme tell ya, your niece has got to be one of the most frustrating people I have ever known. She just got in a fight yesterday. Well, by fight, I mean she was attacked." A strong gust of wind came out of nowhere, nearly blowing him over. "I know. I was pretty pissed too." The wind slowed and Danny wrapped his arms more firmly around his knees. "Don't worry. Jason protected her. You remember Don's kid? Yeah, well, he's crazy for her. I mean, head over heels, willin' to die, the whole nine yards." He smirked. "He asked her to their school dance. I can remember my first dance, for God's sake." Danny sighed and crossed his legs, stretching his arms back behind him for support. "And then there's this other kid she's tutoring who, to hear Lindsay tell it, is in love with her too. My kid's a guy magnet!" He chuckled as a small breeze fanned across his face. "It must run in the family. Anyway, I guess this kid and Jason both wanted Meghan as their date, but Jason got her first. And then she and Jason weren't talkin', and then they were, and now they're both bloody masses of innocent kid, and I dunno what to do, Lou."

A warm draft of air settled on the area and Danny tilted his head back, watching the sunrise. "They say these punks came out of nowhere, but that doesn't fit with the injuries on Jason's body. Every blow was precise. And they still had all their cash on them. It seemed too planned, too clean, to be a random act of violence. It reminded of me of Sonny, in a weird, perverse way. You know how he used to watch someone for weeks and then go in for the kill? That's what this looked like. So the random riot excuse doesn't work." Danny laughed outright. "Look at this. I come to talk to you, and you get a first class CSI rundown. I'm sorry."

The warm air lifted to be replaced with another strong twist of air, curling around Danny like a curious child. It reminded him of a question. "Could they have known the kids? It's possible." He chewed his lip for a moment, studying in the marble. "It would've had to have been someone who had a beef with one of them. And I can't think of anyone who hated Meghan, or Jason." A balloon floated away from one of the other headstones. "The kid from the dance? It's possible that he was so angry with Jason that he…" Danny looked at his brother's name in shock. "It was a gang effort. The kids even said so. This kid brought in friends to help him with his revenge on being shut down. And Meghan is **my** daughter and **your** niece. There are no coincidences." Danny leapt up from his place on the ground, brushing his hands as he went. "It's been nice talkin' to ya, bro, but I gotta go talk to my godson about a tutor."

---

For the second Saturday in a row, Jason woke up smiling. Granted, his grin wasn't as big as it was the last time he felt this happy with the world, but a fat lip will do that to you. He sat up achingly, clutching his ribs. The punishment that started today was nothing compared to the fact that Meghan was once again happy with him. Jason rolled his eyes as he climbed out of bed and started off down the hall towards the kitchen. If he didn't know any better, he was whipped.

Oh, but what a glorious knowledge that was.

He muttered "Good mornin'," to his parents and got about half way to the fridge before realizing there wasn't just family in the room. Slowly, Jason turned his head to smile at his godfather. "Hey, Danny. You sleep here last night?"

Don snorted into his coffee cup while Danny raised an eyebrow in mild amusement. "No. Come sit down."

Jason blew his black hair out of his eyes and unceremoniously planted himself in the only empty chair, across from Danny. "I was asleep last night, I promise. I did not leave the apartment. How can I already be in trouble?"

This time Stella snorted while Don and Danny exchanged skeptical glances. "What makes you think you're in trouble, Jason?" Don asked his son, cocking an identical eyebrow.

Jason looked from one man to another, disbelief on his face. "Are you kiddin'? You both are in the same room. I must have screwed **something** up."

"No, Jason, nothing's wrong." Danny leaned back in his chair, playing with a napkin in front of him. "What I really wanted to know was the name of the kid Meghan was tutoring."

Jason could feel his hackles rising immediately. Most of what cops looked for, he had come to learn, was body language, and if they were being as observant as they were paid to be, the adults would notice that he hated thinking about Tommy Ryan. Over the years, Jason had learned how to hide what he was feeling behind a blank mask, and he applied those skills now. Danny hadn't been looking at him when he felt defensive… Maybe he hadn't seen.

"Why?" he asked casually, leaning back as well.

Danny smirked. "Just a curious father wanting to know what's been up with his daughter lately."

Jason surveyed his godfather warily. Danny wasn't stupid; Jason had learned this lesson time and time again. There was some ulterior motive to what this man wanted to know, and if Jason was as nearly as smart as he gave himself credit for, he could bet on Danny's "curiosity" being related to the dull ache in Jason's ribs. Finally, Jason decided that he could not control Danny, or what the man did with the knowledge he was seeking. He smiled cheerfully and took a sip out of his mother's orange juice. "I think it was Tommy something-or-another."

Danny nodded his head thoughtfully, mind racing. "Ryan?"

"Yeah! Tommy Ryan, that's the one!" _The less I pretend to know about this, the better. _

"Hmm. Thanks, Jase." _I knew the bastard was involved with this somehow._ "Well, I hate to eat and run, but I gotta get home and spend time with **my** wife and kid." He gave a friendly smile to everyone, grabbed a piece of toast and was gone in a matter of seconds. Jason sat staring at his parents, dumbfounded.

"What the hell was that all about?"

Don cuffed his son lightly on the back of the head. "Don't cuss in front of your mother." He stood, straightened his tie and took off as well. Danny was going to need some help.


	17. Connections and Conversations

"She. Lied. To. Me. Lindsay, she fuckin' lied to me!" Danny paced angrily in the bedroom he had shared with his wife for seventeen years. Lindsay sat helplessly on the bed, watching her husband, head swiveling like she was watching a particularly vicious tennis match. Which, in all respects, she was. Danny's anger at Tanglewood's involvement and Meghan's dishonesty was combating with his fear for his family and daughter. "I have half a mind to not let her go to that god-damned dance."

"Danny, no. You can't do that to her now." Lindsay held out her hands beseechingly. "Maybe, Meghan didn't tell you who she was tutoring because she knew that you would make the connection with Tanglewood and go into super-dad mode." She smiled faintly. "I must say, you are pretty intimidating."

"Linds, it was a flat out **lie**. You know it, I know it, and she knows it. Hell, Jason knows it and that boy is oblivious ninety-nine percent of the time." His blue eyes shone with annoyance and Lindsay bit her lip. There were other times his eyes shone like that; they seemed to encompass all of his passionate emotions. "She told us that she had no idea who attacked them, which we both know was COMPLETELY wrong."

"How do we know that, Danny?" Lindsay stood quickly, planting her hands on her hips defiantly. "How do we know that a random group of kids didn't just start beating up Jason?" Her voice took a cold turn and cut through the air like a particularly swift arrow. "You just want to believe it was Tanglewood, because you want a reason to go out and arrest someone else's child!" Lindsay's voice hit a high shriek and Danny stepped back, amazed. She hadn't shouted at him like that since before they were married. Sometimes he thought he missed her fiery temper, but when her eyes flashed like that, he knew he definitely didn't.

They stood there, staring at each other, until Lindsay broke the silence with a shaky breath. "I'm sorry I yelled. I shouldn't have-"

"No, you're right. I do just want a reason to make Tanglewood pay." Tiredly, he ran a hand over his eyes. "I just hate to think that they will dominate her life like they dominated mine."

Lindsay crossed the floor in a moment, wrapping her arms securely around his abdomen. "Oh, baby, I don't think she'd ever let that happen. I don't think we'd ever let that happen they way your parents did."

Danny smirked and pulled away to study her face. "Well, **my** family was connected."

"Shut up," Lindsay said, gently slapping his chest. "You know I don't believe half the rumors that float around the lab anymore." She rose up on her tiptoes to place a loving kiss on his lips, pulling away slowly to resume the pacing he had abandoned. Danny watched in vague admiration as his wife went into full analysis. "Okay, let's think about this logically. Mac is always telling us not to go off of pure instinct," she shot a suggestive look at Danny, who grinned sheepishly, "so we need to think about the evidence. Meghan mentioned something about Tommy and Jason not getting along… do you think that's a motive?"

"Definitely motive. Now we need to think of a reason for the fightin'." Danny crossed his arms and stared pensively at the floor. His ears were suddenly filled with silence. He looked up to see Lindsay staring at him in exasperation. "Danny, you know the reason. _Meghan._"

He bit his lip thoughtfully. "Damn. I was really hopin' that was just a hunch."

Lindsay laughed. "Doubt it. Basically what we've got is a crime of passion."

"I was also hopin' to never associate my daughter with those three words." Danny winced. He inhaled deeply. "So Tommy hates Jason for gettin' to Meghan first, so he plans a way to get back at the kid. Grabs a few of his buddies, and they catch Meg and Jason behind the school. What comes naturally to a group of thugs?"

"Beating up the unsuspecting public!" Lindsay burst out, smiling grimly. "Dan, I can really tell how passionate you are about this case."

"Is my fatherly affection showin' through again?" Danny wiggled his eyebrows goofily at her.

Lindsay smirked and shook her head. "No. Your accent's getting **thicker**." She giggled as he shook his head in disbelief. He stuck his tongue out at her playfully and captured her in his arms. "Sorry. It's a protective thing." He sighed and leaned his chin against the top of Lindsay's head. "When should we talk to her again about this?"

"Not until after the dance." He gaped at his wife helplessly and she raised an eyebrow. "She and Jason have already gone through enough issues connected to this dance. I don't want to add more. We need to investigate some more, ask around. Get witnesses and maybe make an arrest without involving the kids."

Danny nodded reluctantly. "Fine." He returned his wife's kiss passionately, cupping his hands behind her head. He was disappointed, to say in the least, when she pulled away. "Muh?"

Lindsay giggled and skipped out the door without an explanation. "Meghan! Wakey – wakey! Time for you to serve out your sentence!"

Danny could hear his daughter's voice, muffled by the pillow she probably had stuffed over her head, complaining loudly. Sounds of slamming cabinet doors and pots on the stove filled the air and he smiled. He could wait a few days. It would give him time to come up with a better case. He wanted to bust this kid's ass. _Nobody threatens my kid and walks away with a smile on his face, dammit._

---

I know, I know… it's short…

But the end is near, my friends, and I want to make it last. XD


	18. Shopping Is A Woman's Pastime

One week passed in a flurry of house-cleaning and chore time. Soon, Meghan's grounding had lifted and Lindsay deemed it necessary that she take her daughter dress shopping. With a few friends, of course.

Meghan found herself shepherded through the doors of Vera Wang, surrounded by a flurry of colors. "Is this heaven?" she asked her mother numbly, vaguely aware that there were other people in the store as well. Lindsay laughed and led her daughter through the mirage of fabrics to an open space in the rainbow fray. Meghan halted in her tracks when she saw her receiving committee.

"Stella! And…oh… _Shit._"

Danny pulled his hands from his pockets, smirking at his daughter. "Hey, Meg." Jason and Don both flashed identical grins and Meghan's eyes widened in horror.

"Mom," she whispered, "what are they doin' here?"

Lindsay nudged her daughter and winked, like she was sharing an enormous secret that Meghan was lucky enough to be a part of. "Well, don't you want your father and godfather and **date** to see your dress?"

"Whatever happened to the element of surprise?" Meghan rose a disapproving eyebrow at the level of testosterone in what she thought was a strictly female environment. "Besides, I wasn't aware the Three Stooges had any fashion sense anyway," she said loudly, returning her father's smirk. Danny shook his head and crossed his arms. "Keep that up, and this Stooge will make sure you wear a potato sack."

Jason cast a pitiful look at Meghan, his green eyes begging. As a kid who had grown up around him for the longest time, Meghan found the look extremely hilarious. As a young woman, she caught her breath at the butterflies that took off when his eyes met hers and she stuck out her hand expectantly. "Dress, please."

Lindsay and Stella smiled conspiratorially at each other and pushed Meghan into the changing room. They then threw gown after gown over the top of the door, suggesting tips and ideas with each sequined outfit. Danny and Don eventually got called in, kissing their wives good-bye, Danny adding an extra knock on the dressing room door. "I want to see it when I get home," he called through the wood and Meghan grunted noncommittally.

"At this rate, there might not be a dress," Lindsay whispered and Danny smirked. "Go easy on her. She's been hanging with me for the past sixteen years, remember?" He winked at Jason before following Flack through the melee. Jason stared wistfully after his godfather and dad before setting his gaze on his mother. "Now that I've been a proper sport just to get Dad and Danny engaged, can I go now?"

Stella laughed and nodded. "Yes. Go shoot hoops with Chris, or whatever you were planning on doing today."

"Thanks, Mom. Bye Linds. See ya later, Meg!" Jason disappeared from the scene in a flash, leaving the older women smiling behind him. Lindsay exhaled heavily and dropped into one of the heavily cushioned couches set out by the management. "I almost miss being Auntie Win."

Stella shook her curls out of her face, joining her friend on loveseat, slipping off her fabulous but painful Jimmy Choos. "Not as much as I miss being 'Auntie Tella'."

"I remember how Jason used to call Danny "Danner" when he was two, just because Danny's face would make him laugh every time he heard that little voice."

"Yeah, Jase did have that issue with r's and l's for a while… Remember how Meghan used to sit on the floor, watching Danny talk, trying to figure out how to get her voice to sound like her daddy's?"

"Yes! Danny would purposely pronounce his accent so she could pick it up. 'A true New Yorker,' he'd say."

"And look at them now."

"All grown up and going to a dance together."

"The perfect couple."

"What are you two schemin' now?"

Lindsay and Stella jumped simultaneously as Meghan's partly irritated, partly amused voice cut through their thoughts. Lindsay clutched her chest, where her heart was threatening to burst out of her rib cage and bring Danny back to the store, complete with kit. "Were you eavesdropping, young lady?"

"I ain't been dropping no eaves, marm," Meghan drawled in a perfect Irish imitation. "I just thought I should let y'all know that amongst the piles of saffron silk, lace, and petticoats, I have found the perfect dress." She peeked her head around the dressing room door, smirking. "And if you two will concentrate on this dance, and not the father-daughter one at my wedding, I shall reveal said gown to you."

Stella raised one waxed eyebrow sternly. "Well, out with you."

Meghan grinned wider and shut the door, going for the full display effect. Taking a deep breath, she flung open the dressing room door, laughing out loud at the stunned looks on her mother and godmother's faces. Lindsay shrieked happily while Stella simply sat staring. When Meghan turned to her for her approval, Stella wiped a small tear from her eye and smiled.

"That boy is going to die when he sees you in that."

---

**A/N: **A little humor for you while I finish the next chapter. I decided that the one after this has too much going on for it to be added onto this… Oooh, I'm so excited for you guys! I can't wait to hear what you have to say!

P.S. – Yes, that was a reference to Lord of the Rings, if anyone caught it. Samwise Gamgee forever! Lol.


	19. Dresses, Dancing, and the Whole SheBang

Lindsay nervously peered out the peephole for what seemed to be the millionth time. Danny looked up from the couch, the very picture of calm. "Linds, would you chill? He'll be here in a minute."

Danny sounded as cool as a cucumber, but in his mind, he was calculating. It took the kids ten minutes to get to the restaurant where they were meeting up with their friends, fifteen to get to the school from there, three hours at the dance, and then twenty minutes home. Give or take traffic severity. If Jason so much jumped a millisecond outside the timeline Danny had devised, there would be hell to pay. But because Danny had once been a teenage boy himself, Jason wouldn't be the only person grounded for a month. Danny realized all too well how much a beautiful girl could offer temptation, especially on a night like this. He wasn't ready for this point in Meghan's life. Danny liked his little girl in pigtails and overalls, thank you very much. He hadn't even been allowed to pass judgment on the dress, for pity's sake!

His wife cast him a scathing look, eyes darting to the clock anxiously. "It's not Jason, I worry about. It's Meghan. If she's not ready when he gets here…"

"Which, accordin' to your calculations, should be any minute."

"Yes, and if she's not ready, we may be forced to make awkward conversations with the poor boy!" Lindsay flopped down on the couch next to her husband, her arms going around his torso in a bear hug. Danny lifted his arm to rest on the back of the sofa, making room for her. "Dan, promise me you won't let me say anything embarrassing. I rather like my status of cool cop mom. Didn't your parents ever say excruciatingly uncomfortable things to your date before you went out?"

Danny smiled, his eyes staying fixed on the football game in front of him. "Montana, my parents didn't give a shit who I dated, so long as I didn't get her pregnant and disgrace the good family name. Although, by the time I started dating, Louie had managed to do that pretty well." He looked down with those crystalline eyes at Lindsay, whose chin was resting on his shoulder, watching him speak. He gently kissed her nose and said, "I promise not to let you say anything stupid."

She let out a sigh of relief and turned her head so it was resting squarely on his broad shoulder. "Good." There was a moment of companionable silence before Lindsay spoke again. "Don't think we're not going to talk about those parent-slash-sibling issues again, Dan. You can't bring something like that up and then drop the subject."

The buzzer cut through Danny's astonished silence and Lindsay bounded off the couch. "I got it! Will you go get Meghan, please?"

As Lindsay rushed to the apartment door, Danny pulled himself off the sofa and traipsed down the hall, still pondering how his wife could be so scheming and innocent all at once. She managed to get him to spill secrets about his childhood that the best department analyst had never been able to crack out of him. Whatever this meant psychologically was beyond him, but he was pretty sure it was creepy.

A deep breath and two sharp knocks on his daughter's bedroom door alerted Meghan to her father's presence. "Meg? Jason's here."

A muffled thud and several quietly whispered curse words informed Danny that his daughter was not as ready as she was supposed to be. "Meghan? Can I come in?"

"Just a minute, Daddy," came the reply and Danny gave the customary two-minute grace period before grabbing the doorknob and turning. "I'm coming in," he announced, keeping his eyes shut, just in case. He heard a faint giggle and deemed it safe to open his eyes.

The little girl who had once refused to where anything besides shorts and t-shirts was no longer the occupant of this room. Danny's breath left his chest and he almost thought of looking for somewhere to sit down. The young woman standing in front of him couldn't possibly be the same child who used to take naps on his chest when he was babysitting. Her dress was a deep forest green with silver and green netting underneath the skirt, giving the bottom of the dress a much fuller and grown up look. The top of the dress was simple, just two plain, broad straps over her shoulders, but Meghan's usually straight brown hair hung in soft waves about her face and her amber eyes, so much like her mother's, shown with excitement. Danny swallowed hard; he tried to convince himself that he just needed a beer and those weren't tears coming to his eyes. He opened his mouth to give a compliment, but no sound came out.

"Dad? What do you think? Do I need the potato sack?" Meghan's voice was filled with uncertainty and Danny shook his head once. Then twice more, because concern was rapidly taking over his daughter's eyes. Finally, he gathered up the strength to speak. "Wow, Meg. You look wonderful," he croaked out, taking a step closer.

An uncharacteristic blush took over her cheeks and Meghan smiled. "Thanks." She grabbed her purse from the bed and Danny was comforted by the fact that it was her every day bag, not the one she wore to the NYPD galas and such. "I thought I heard the buzzer. Is he here?"

Danny smacked his head playfully, looking morose. "Crap! I almost forgot. Yes, he is here."

Rushing past him, Meghan only paused long enough to hit her dad with her purse. "How can you forget something like that, Dad? My god!" Her voice faded off down the hall and Danny smirked, shaking his head. He heard Lindsay's excited voice greeting their daughter in the living room and Danny sighed. He pulled out his cell and punched in a number, glad when it only rang twice.

"Don? Yeah, I've got a feelin' we may have to do a little tailin' tonight…"

---

If Jason had thought he was attracted to Meghan when she was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, he **knew** that he could see him marrying her when she appeared in the room in that dress. His hands immediately were clasped in front of him, trying not to embarrass himself. Meghan smiled shyly and he blinked stupidly. "Hey, Jason."

It made no sense. That was Meghan's voice, all right, but the hair, the face, and the dress all told him that he was escorting a woman who was clearly out of his league. He noticed Lindsay watching him and he cleared his throat. "Hey Meghan. You look…wow."

She laughed and he immediately felt the blood rush to his…face. "So eloquent, Jason. Really." She kissed her mother on the cheek. "We should be back…umm…"

"One at the latest," Danny said, coming up behind his wife. His blue eyes shifted between the two teenagers. "I want her back by one, Jason."

"Yessir," Jason replied quickly, offering his arm for Meghan to take. She smiled sweetly and looped her arm through his, waving at her parents over her shoulder. "'Bye, guys," she called over her shoulder and then the door swung shut behind them. Lindsay rolled her eyes and tilted her head to try and see her husband's face. "Must you give him a heart attack every time it comes to her?"

Danny pretended to consider the question before nodding his head. "Yep!" He glanced at the clock and unwound his arms from around her waist, grabbing his coat and keys from the table by the door. "Don and I are goin' out for drinks. I won't be too late."

Lindsay huffed and stared at him incredulously. "What the hell am I supposed to do for the next couple of hours?"

As if answering her question, there was a knock on the door. When Danny shrugged, just as clueless as she, Lindsay walked over and looked through the peephole. She laughed happily and let Stella in. Danny grinned appreciatively and slipped out, pecking his wife lovingly on the cheek before setting off down the hall. Stella gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. "Where's he going?"

"Drinks with Don, he said," Lindsay said, crowing at the bag of old movies Stella had brought with her. "But we all know what that means."

"If they so much as **think** about those kids, I will shoot both of 'em with my own gun," Stella grumbled. "I knew Don looked shifty when Jason left. I bet Danny called him and the two of them are going to tail all night."

Lindsay shrugged and grabbed a DVD from the bag. "Probably, but what can we do about it? Let them be protective. Who knows… they may prevent a major catastrophe. Is this the old or new version?"

---

Meghan smiled to herself as she walked into the gymnasium at St. Xavier's, though nothing in that room had reason to make her smile. Though the decorations were pretty and the DJ was playing a fairly decent song, the reason for her happiness was hanging up his and her coats in the coat check. Jason hadn't been able to keep his eyes off her all through dinner, and Erin had more than once kicked her under the table, giggling. Meghan bit her lip as she remembered the conversation the two girls had had when Erin had dragged her best friend off to the bathroom for a touch-up.

"_That boy looks even better in a suit than his father does! Please tell me you plan on having that man's babies!" _

"_Sweetheart, my father would __**kill**__ me. And he knows ninety-seven ways to hide the body!" _

"_But… I'm not saying right now… Now, your sole goal is convincing him that he can't live his life without you." _

"_He better know that already. But you're not listening. My father will __**kill**__ me if I come home looking any less put together than allowed." _

"_Then I'll just hint to Jason to be less than gentlemanly…" _

"_My father will kill him too. Then your whole plan will be screwed." _

"_Point taken." _

Meghan chuckled lightly under her breath. Erin was a riot, but Meghan had told her the truth. Danny's happiness with this whole situation only went as far as Meghan and Jason together in a well-lit room with tons of witnesses. Her father's protective nature had made her so paranoid that Meghan could have sworn that as the group left the restaurant, she saw Danny sitting in Don's silver cruiser, sipping a Pepsi. But before she could investigate further, Erin had dragged her into the car that was waiting to take their little group to the school.

A hand on the small of her back caused her smile to grow, and she giggled as Jason dug his fingers into her side. "Wanna dance?" he whispered into her ear, and she shivered from the close contact. A nod of the head, and Jason pulled her to the floor. They waved to respective friends before the DJ changed the song to a mutual favorite and they gave themselves over to the music. Never a big fan of grinding and such nonsense, Meghan loved the way Jason would spin her like an old fifties dance couple.

The pair of them had fairly good reflexes due to the genes they had been given, and soon there was an admiring circle around the pair as the song changed to a big band swing number. Meghan laughed and kicked off her shoes, passing them to Erin on the edge of the circle. The teens whirled and twirled around and around, throwing original moves in with the classics. Jason almost didn't want the song to end, but when it did, he was relieved. Meghan always had been a better dancer than him.

Panting and flushed from the effort, they grabbed a table at the edge of the dance floor and sat, waiting out a particularly loud rap song. Erin and Chris joined them, followed by Mike and his date, a girl from another school whose name Meghan couldn't remember.

Mike clapped Jason on the back hard, grinning. "Where the hell did you learn to dance like that?"

"It's a natural talent," Jason fired back, resting his arm on the back of Meghan's chair. The move was not lost on Erin and she exchanged meaningful glances with Chris. Meghan caught the look and shook her head.

"You disagree? He's never been this good?" Mike interpreted her displeasure as disagreement and Meghan smiled awkwardly at Jason as the table erupted in gales of laughter. "No, he's always been good. In fact, when we were little, our parents would put on old songs just to get us to dance. It really is natural talent." She grinned sweetly at her date and he couldn't help but grin back.

"Hey, Meghan." A deep voice chilled the atmosphere considerably at the table and Jason bristled as Tommy appeared behind Meghan. "Can we talk for a minute?"

Placing a gentle hand on Jason's muscled arm, Meghan nodded and stood. She winked at her friends, all of whom had sober faces. "Nobody do anything stupid until I get back." She took the lead and pulled Tommy to the dance floor. Mike sighed and shook his head as Jason stand up as well, following them. "Too late," he muttered.

Meghan took Tommy into the heart of the crowd, squeezing between couples until she couldn't see their table anymore. Cautiously, she placed her hands around his neck, keeping them apart with her arms. Her hazel eyes were guarded as she looked up at the young man. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to tell you how sorry I was about the whole fight thing." He shrugged and flashed her a crooked smile. "My brother was out of line, ya know?"

She nodded and pursed her lips, trying to think of the right thing to say. "Why did you let him hit Jason like that?" she asked quietly, angry at the slight tremor in her voice.

Again, he shrugged. "I can't control what Tony does. He's a loose cannon. Sometimes he loses his temper, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"But Jason didn't do anything to him," Meghan said. "He had nothing to lose his temper over. If you had a problem with us, why didn't you just talk to me about it?"

"Because I can't get anywhere near you without him breathin' down my neck!" Tommy's voice was bitter and Meghan bit her lip and swallowed the retort that was threatening to break free of her throat. _He wouldn't have to if you didn't run around with such a shady crowd. Be a normal kid like us and see how Jason treats you then._

"I can't help that, Tommy. He does it because he cares about me." Her voice was soft and Tommy had to make an effort not to roll his eyes.

"I care about you, Meghan. You need a guy who can protect you. How's he supposed to do that if he's carrying on the family legacy, like everyone says he going to do?" Tommy asked.

Meghan snorted. "I'm sure a cop will be able to take care of me, Tommy."

"As opposed to a gangster?" Her eyes collided with his as she realized what he meant and he pulled away from her roughly. Tears sprang to her eyes and she gasped. "No, Tommy. Wait…"

He shook his head and turned, leaving her as the song came full circle. Meghan sobbed once, pressing her hands to her mouth.

_Use me as you will_

_Pull my strings just for a thrill_

_And I know I'll be okay_

_Though my skies are turning gray_

_I will never let you fall_

_I'll stand up with you forever_

_I'll be there for you through it all_

_Even if saving you sends me to heaven_

Jason saw Tommy leave her and he gave Meghan a few moments before he pushed through a close couple and pulled her into a warm embrace. Meghan collapsed against his chest, pressing her face into his shoulder so no one could see her crying. "Shh," he mumbled into her ear, rubbing her back gently. "She loves this song," he told the concerned couple next to them and Meghan trembled with a weak giggle. She pulled back to see Jason smiling uncertainly. "I'm okay," she said, wiping her eyes carefully.

The song changed and the DJ's voice came over the loudspeakers, cutting off the opening notes. "This next one is from an avid Yankees fan to the girl who can have all of his heart. Enjoy, folks."

Meghan bit her lip, giggling, as _Let My Love Open the Door_ echoed through the gym. "I hate you," she told Jason, pulling him close to her.

He shook his head as his arms snaked around her waist, holding her against him firmly. "I beg to differ," he replied and they both laughed before she rested her head on his shoulder, swaying in time to the music. Jason sighed happily and rested his cheek against her soft hair. As much as he wanted to know what Tommy had said, he had learned that it was really none of his business. As long as he had her here, in his arms, life was good.

_When everything feels all over_

_Everybody seems unkind_

_I'll give you a four-leaf clover_

_Take all worry out of your mind_

Jason cleared his throat and Meghan raised her head to see his green eyes gazing down on her. "What?" she asked softly, running the tips of her fingers over the nape of his neck and through his black hair.

Jason shivered. "Umm, I was thinking… since everyone thinks we're together, and our moms want us to be together, and we're **here** together, we might as well…be…together."

Meghan stared at him, astonished. "I think that was the most unromantic thing I have ever heard you say."

"Well…yeah…but you know you want me."

"Jason Donald Flack! That is not helping your case!" She tried to pull away from him but he laughed and pulled her closer, if possible. "I'm sorry. Don't go."

"I should just leave, you know. I can call a taxi and get out of here." Meghan rolled her eyes, but she didn't try to pull away again. Almost the entire length of her body was pressed against Jason's and she had to admit that she didn't mind it so much.

Jason grinned and clasped his hands behind her back. "Can I try again?"

Meghan raised her eyebrows expectantly. "You better. Honestly…"

Softly, he brushed a strand of hair back from her face, his eyes suddenly tender and sweet. "Meghan, I was hoping we could make this official. Would you be my girlfriend?"

She tilted her head to the side, pressing her hands to her warm cheeks. "Much better." When he made a noise of dissent, she giggled and bit her lip. "Yes. I will."

He smiled wider at that and kissed the top of her forehead without even thinking. They both froze and Meghan looked up at Jason with wide eyes. Swallowing deeply, she summoned all her courage.

"You missed."

That was all the invitation he needed. Wetting his lips carefully, Jason leaned down and gently pressed his mouth against hers, applying a soft pressure. When they pulled apart, Meghan was happy to see that she wasn't the only one who felt extremely relieved. Feeling giddy, she pulled his head back to hers for a repeat.

_When people keep repeating_

_That you'll never fall in love_

_When everybody keeps retreating_

_But you can't seem to get enough_

_Let my love open the door_

_Let my love open the door_

_Let my love open the door_

_To your heart_

Inside his coat pocket, Don clenched and unclenched his fist in silent victory. _Nice goin', Jase!_ He could feel Danny tense next to him as Meghan pulled Jason's head down and their lips met again. "It was bound to happen sometime, Danny boy," Don said, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly.

Danny sighed and shook his head. "I just wasn't ready for it now. You do realize, if he wasn't your son, I'd kill him." He looked up at the taller man and Don had to fight to hide his smile. "I'm honored, Dan."

Shrugging, Danny turned back to the couple. They were still plainly visible from where the two detectives were camped out in the corner of the gym and both set of fatherly eyes were set upon them. So wrapped up were they in the affairs of their children, they didn't see Tommy sneak out the door and into the New York night.

---

_Your Guardian Angel_ by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

_Let My Love Open the Door_ by Pete Townshend

**A/N:** This one was a little longer, due to lack of writing before, but I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are loved and appreciated!


	20. The One I'm Waiting For

**A/N:** I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I haven't updated in FOREVER, and I'm so sorry! Our school play and other life drama took up a lot of my writing energy, but I really want to be able to give you guys a great story… so, without further ado…

---

Tommy slammed his fist into the brick wall of the gymnasium, relishing the ache. The sting of the cement on his bare skin made him cry out and he drew back slowly, hand smarting. Warm tears rushed to the corner of his eyes, blurring his vision. The feel of concrete against his knuckles wasn't enough; Meghan's face floated before his face, reminding him why he was running. It was a funny thing, pain. Physical or mental, it was one of those annoying states of being that took a long time to fade. So long, in fact, it was proven that people went insane from the mere presence of the thing.

Still cursing softly over the throbbing in his hand and the dull roar in his heart, Tommy pulled a cigarette from his jacket pocket and lit it with a match from the same pocket. As the smoke filled his lungs, Tommy thought about Meghan. She was really the only thing he ever thought about anyway. Whenever Tanglewood got too heavy, or Tony got too out of line, Tommy could count on the brunette beauty to steal his mind and make him innocent again. When he had to beat some sense into that kid the other day, Meghan's disappointed mind kept flashing in his head, telling him it was wrong. She was his conscience – she had been since she had first slapped him upside the head for being a wise ass during their tutoring time.

But _Flack_. Goddamned son of a cop, that Mick could really make Tommy's blood boil. He knew it was wrong to hate Jason; the kid had really never done anything to him. But the name alone sent angry shivers down his spine, and Don Flack Junior's face when he came to take Tony away for some crummy misdemeanor, time and time again, was the same look Jason gave Tommy every time the latter was around Meghan.

A last drag on his cigarette and Tommy dropped it to the pavement, grinding it with his toe. Meghan had always hated his smoking habit: she used to tell him that she would get pictures to show him from the lung cancer place, just so he could see what his lungs would look like when he was forty. But Tommy didn't care. The look on her face when she had told him what he had always known made him want to die far before then.

"_I'm sure a cop will be able to take care of me, Tommy."_

"Fuck," he muttered, his head resting against the stone and mortar. _Goddamned son of a cop. _

Then, for a moment, Tommy's mind was clear. _**Son**__ of a cop. No certified police officer here._ Flack was such a dick, always getting things his own way because of his parents. But even Daddy dearest wouldn't want the prodigal son to grow up ahead of his time. The kid could fight, but he had no battle skills. And then there was that annoying chivalry to factor…

A vague plan was festering in Tommy's brain, and he smiled with the thought of it. Wrapping his arms around his shaking frame, Tommy Ryan disappeared into the streets of Manhattan, his mouth twisted into a grim smile.

---

Meghan smiled into Jason's shoulder as the song ended, her feet still moving after the last notes faded away. A sigh ruffled her hair and she looked up to see Jason smiling down at her wistfully. "What's up?" she asked, pushing her body closer to his.

"Don't look now, but I think we're being trailed." It was almost the end of the night, and Jason was tired. But the training he had picked up from his old man wasn't dulled just yet and he had spotted Danny and Don slipping into two unoccupied chairs closer to the dance floor. He hadn't wanted to tell Meghan; but the night was winding down, and his plans weren't. Fathers were not on his agenda.

Meghan didn't look, but her amber eyes sparked with frustration. "Shit. I can't believe him!"

Jason smiled and cast another furtive look at the two cops. "It's not just your old man, Meg. Don's here, too." Casually, Jason spun her so she could get a good look, and when they came face-to-face again, she had a very Danny-ish look on her face. It reminded Jason uncomfortably of how his godfather looked whenever dealing with a particularly nasty criminal. "I'm going to kill them."

"I'm pretty sure that's illegal on several levels. You can't go to jail now." He rested his forehead against hers. "I hate the limitations they put on visiting hours." His teasing tone made Meghan smile a bit, and Jason kissed her nose gently. "We just have to outsmart them, is all."

Meghan nodded and looked over Jason's shoulder. He watched as her face split into an evil grin. "Bingo." Grabbing Jason's hand, she pulled him behind her through the crowd. Jason was about to ask when he saw where his girlfriend was headed. An identically cruel smile crossed his lips and he tightened his grip on Meghan's hand. They would finish their night in peace after all.

---

"Detectives? I don't remember you two signing up as chaperones." Sister Mary Francis was a tough nut to crack, and her face had been known to make the hardest of juvenile delinquents confess. Don and Danny looked up in surprise, their faces guilty. "Sister! What a surprise…" Don trailed off, noting that Danny's face had gone slightly pale. Nuns had never taught the former, but Danny could remember the horrors the habit wearing brought upon the student body, and he was still trying to get over his own memories of public humiliation.

Sister Mary Francis crossed her arms and put on her best You-are-so-busted face. "Are you on duty, Detectives?"

The two men gaped at her before floundering into half-assed explanations.

"Well, no, but…"

"You see, ma'am…"

"-we are here to check on our kids-"

"-Jason and Meghan are great kids, we just-"

"-making sure that they don't get into too much trouble-"

"-wanted to see that they didn't bother your Holiness." This got Danny a severe look of confusion and he decided to shut up.

"So you aren't on duty?" Sister watched as two fully-grown men shook their heads sheepishly. "Then why on earth did you bring weapons into my gymnasium.

Danny looked at Don in horror. For his part, Flack gulped. He smiled at the nun nervously. "I just got off-duty…"

Her arm whipped out and pointed to the gymnasium door. "Leave! I don't need positive enforcers of the law imprinting young minds with negative influences! And another thing…" She began lecturing them on the vices of meddling and what would their wives say if they could see them now?

Meghan pressed a hand over her mouth, stifling her hysterical laughter. Danny's nervous embarrassment was too good to be true, and she would remember to tease him about it later. A hand on her arm startled her and Jason snickered as she turned to face him, surprise in her eyes. "C'mon… let's get outta here."

She followed him through the gym doors, the cool air of the night hitting her like a ton of bricks. "Ow. Cold."

"Here…" Without any further preamble, Jason draped his jacket over her shoulders, squeezing her in a one-armed hug before flagging down a cab. Meghan watched silently as young Flack negotiated the taxi-driver. Her mouth twisted in a small smile as she nestled into the black jacket that smelled like him. Jason was quite possibly the sweetest boy she had ever known – Briefly her mind flashed to Tommy before all this, before the fight and his argument with Jason. He had been so much easier to understand then. There hadn't been all this tension and cause for worry. But what she hated most was the fact that her father had shown up to a school function. Danny came to every recital she had ever had, but he wasn't a chaperone kind of guy: to be perfectly honest, Meghan didn't mind. She loved the tough guy dad, the one who would rather take her to a Yankees game than embarrass her in front of God and everybody. But this new development was unsettling. She knew it was, at most, a precaution taken with Jason, a way to make sure his daughter's date was behaving himself. But it could also be that Danny had figured out Tommy was involved with Tanglewood, and was trailing her to see that she didn't get hurt again.

_Can you save me from emotional pain, Daddy? Can you make sure a boy I thought was once my friend doesn't get swept up into a life I can't save him from?_

Jason looked up from his bartering with the Arabic-speaking taxi driver in disgust, tired of the attitude he was getting. The man didn't seem to understand that they needed to get away quickly, before Don came out and really made things a problem. One glance at Meghan's face told Jason that she was miles away from the present. With a sigh of resolve, Jason looked back at the driver. "Never mind we'll walk." He ignored the protests of "You waste time, you pay!" and wrapped his arm about his date's shoulders. "C'mon."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, each pondering their own thoughts. Jason couldn't fathom what Meghan was wrapped up in, but he knew very well what his own mind was thinking some very un-gentlemanly thoughts. Her perfume was driving him nuts: it had been all evening. Since they were young, younger than they were now, Jason had noticed Meghan had a very distinct scent, one that always made his brain spin and his knees get a little bit weak. She always smelled good, no matter if it was just the odor of her shampoo that hung around. Speaking of which…

He pressed a kiss to the side of her head, inhaling that glorious scent of something tropical he couldn't place. A small noise below the chestnut waves made him look down at her, and he was pleased to see a smile on her lips, her brown eyes watching him. "What was that for?" she asked, winding her arm around his waist.

Jason shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure."

Meghan grinned and leaned into his embrace. "So, Don Juan, where are we goin'?"

"Ah." Jason looked around them, trying to get his bearings. "I'm not sure about that either. It's too cold to stay out here…"

"And it's too early to go home." Meghan finished his thought without thinking. "Plus, there are the cops to think about."

"Exactly." Jason bit his lip in thought. "We need somewhere that they would never think to look."

Meghan nodded in agreement and looked up. She snorted and nudged Jason in the ribs. He winced playfully and looked at what Meghan wanted him to see. A sign that read "Ella's Erotic Emporium" flashed down on the teenagers in neon pink and Jason grinned. "Okay."

Laughing, Meghan pulled him away, her hand warm in his. "No. I don't think so." They continued walking for a while in silence until Meghan glanced at him. "I didn't really hurt you, did I?"

Jason shook his head. "Nah," he said, "it's just the remainder of a bruise. Tender instead of painful." He grinned at her. "Why? Planning on kissing it and making it better?"

Meghan made a disgusted face. "Ew. No. I'd rather kiss a corpse." She laughed at her own joke, trailing off when she realized Jason had stopped moving. "Jason?"

"That's it!" He seized her hand and began to walk quickly down the sidewalk, pulling her with him. Meghan merely followed, curious as to what epiphany she had inspired this time.

---

After much apologizing and nervous laughter, Danny and Don managed to escape from the gym with their pride hanging around their necks like limp neckties. Don folded his arms when they reached the sidewalk outside, his breath smoky in the air. "Ya ever get the feelin' our kids are gettin' smarter?"

Danny shoved his hands in his jacket pocket. "By that, do you mean that Meghan and Jason called the good Sister's attention to us to give us the slip?" He sniffed and squinted at the taller detective through his square frames. "Hell yes." He sighed. "Where the hell do you think our futures have gone now?"

"If we're lucky, home." Don breathed hot air onto his hands. "However, I've started to think of my son as my favorite perp, so I'm thinkin' that they are not back at your apartment just yet."

Panic started to well up in Danny's stomach, threatening to take over his rationale. "So – what you're sayin' is – they've slipped away someplace else?"

Don resisted the urge to shoot Danny a very pointed "How stupid are you right now?" look and opted with nodding. "If Jason is half the kid I think he is, he'll get Meghan out of the cold. They'll go somewhere they can be comfortable. A diner, maybe?" He looked at his partner questioningly. "Murray's?"

Danny shook his head. "Nah. Too obvious. They can't risk that kind of detection. They'll go somewhere we'd never think to look."

"Comfortable and familiar, too." Don thought, chewing on his lip, before throwing up his arms in frustration. "I got nothin'."

Danny was about to agree with him when the sounds of police sirens rent through the night air. The two men watched as a police cruiser rushed by. Danny turned back to Flack, his eyes sparking. "That's it!" He took off down the sidewalk, motioning for Don to follow.

Lifting his eyes to the heavens, or what he supposed were stars hiding due to light pollution, Don followed suit, his long legs stretching to keep up. He certainly hoped Jason wasn't doing anything stupid. Danny was rather fond of acting on impulse, and if he caught his daughter in a compromising position, the outcome would not be pretty.

---

"Jason. This is so stupid." Meghan stared up at the building in amazement, ignoring Jason's look of dismay.

"No, it's foolproof. What are the chances they'd think of lookin' here? A million to one!" He had chosen to recover from Meghan questioning his intelligence and get on to the excitement. "C'mon. You know it's perfect!"

Meghan sighed and looked up at the building again. "Yeah… maybe."

He snorted in amusement and pulled her behind him, making sure she didn't trip on the cement steps that led up to the Manhattan Police Station. The two of them slipped in the doors with a grin at the night guard. "You know you're a cop's kid when the night guard knows you by name," Meghan whispered, her lips brushing Jason's ear and he grinned. They playfully raced each other to the elevators and he held the doors open for her, breathing in her scent once again. When the doors dinged shut, Meghan sighed and began slipping off her four-inch silver heels. "Jase, I love your ma, but she is a glutton for punishment, even if it isn't hers. These shoes are killing me."

Jason smiled and looked down. "They don't hurt your legs too bad."

Meghan stuttered thanks and blushed, looking at the numbers as they slowly reached the fifth floor. Jason always had a way of making her feel a thousand times more special than she thought she deserved.

As they reached the Forensics lab, Jason pulled Meghan to him and pressed another kiss to her lips. "This night has been incredible," he muttered into her mouth and she sighed happily as a sign of her agreement. The doors opened and Jason and Meghan walked into the lab like they had a mission on their hands. Several lab personnel whispered to one another that it looked like Don Flack and Lindsay Messer were coming through to give them evidence for the next case. The teenagers ignored the unguarded stares as they made their way to the Messer office.

As she saw her parents' door in front of her, Meghan realized something was wrong. There was a little too much evidence out for the lab to be completely empty… other than it's regular night shift, that is. She grabbed Jason's arm in horror. "Shit. _Hawkes._"

Sheldon Hawkes looked up in surprise as the two kids stopped in front of the room where he was going over some evidence from Danny and Lindsay's latest case. "Hey, guys. How was the dance?"

Meghan smiled sweetly and did her best to remain calm. "Great. We're just…umm…"

"Pickin' somethin' up for my ma." Jason swooped in and saved her, his hand digging into her side as a reminder that they needed to move before they got caught.

"Ah. Okay. Tell your moms 'hi' for me, hmm?" Hawkes adjusted his glasses. "Meghan, will you tell Lindsay that I want to see her first thing tomorrow? I have some new evidence!" His voice rose in attempts to catch the two retreating figures. Meghan bit her lip in thought. "Well, where to now?"

Jason glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "We could always go to Mac's office. I've fantasized about–"

"Don't even think about it." Meghan grinned and spotted an open broom closet. "Here." She grabbed Jason by the hand and dragged him in with her, shutting the door firmly behind them. They were encased in darkness immediately.

"Brilliant, Meg." Jason's sarcastic drawl was made even more pronounced by the small space. "Way to look for a light **before** shutting the door. Really nice."

"Shut up." Meghan reached out to hit him. She knew she had found her mark when he swore appropriately. "It can't be too far." She fumbled for a bit before finding a string hanging from the ceiling. "Aha. Perfect." She pulled and the two of them were surrounded by artificial light.

Once a little light had been cast on the subject, Meghan and Jason stared at each other in awkward confusion. They had gotten this far, and that was as far as they had planned. As much as Jason hated to admit it, his hormones were screaming for appeasement, and Meghan was no better off.

Jason took a deep breath and stepped minutely closer to his girlfriend. "I won't make you do anything you don't want to."

His gentle voice, usually so sarcastic and fun, was serious and Meghan's eyes sparkled up at him gratefully. "I know," came her whispered reply and she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck.

Their lips met slowly and Jason's eyes rolled back into his head. Every time he kissed Meghan, he felt dizzy and lightheaded. His hands traced down Meghan's arms before coming to wrap around her waist, pulling her flush against his body. A small moan of surprise escaped her and Jason grunted, feeling his arousal grow with every passing moment. Meghan smiled against his mouth and gently opened her lips, granting his tongue access. Jason took it without complaint and explored her hot, wet mouth willingly. When she replied with an exploration of her own, he reached up and fumbled for the string, found it, and pulled.

The two were encased in darkness and a rush of emotion.

---

Danny and Don were on a mission as they reached the fifth floor. Somewhere, there were two teenagers who were _so grounded_ when they were found. Don hadn't been expecting this, but Danny seemed to know **exactly** how Jason was feeling, and Don wasn't sure if he should be worried or relieved by that fact. They ignored the surprised stares of the techs and set off down the hallway. "Hawkes is workin' late tonight," Danny said, his eyes searching every room available. Don nodded and began searching himself. The sooner they found those two, the better.

"Hawkes!" Danny's voice cut through the air and the scientist looked up in surprise as Danny gestured wonderingly. "What?" Sheldon asked, holding a petrie dish in one hand.

"Where did they go?" Don pushed past Danny, trying to use his authority. No such luck.

Hawkes studied the fathers momentarily before sighing and pointing down the hallway in the direction of Stella's office. A nod of thanks was his reward and then Danny was gone, Don hot on his heels. Hawkes contemplated his work for a moment before setting it down and stripping off his gloves. Something was telling him that he didn't want to miss this.

---

As soon as Stella's office doorway came into view, Don knew they weren't there. He was getting more and more annoyed with Danny's hunch that their kids were at the lab and it showed in the way he paced angrily. "Where are they, Danno?"

Danny ran a hand through his short hair, thinking. "I dunno. They should be here."

"Well, they're not, and if I don't get his ass home in the next fifteen minutes, it's my ass, Messer!"

"Calm down, Flack! I'm workin' here!"

A small crash made both men jump and they wheeled around to see the source of the noise. The only thing they could see was a broom closet, and they both dismissed it until voices could be heard from within.

Danny's cerulean eyes met Don's ice blue ones and they exchanged looks of incredulous disbelief. "You've got to be fuckin' kiddin' me," Danny said, pulling out his gun and motioning for Don to do the same.

The door flew open and Meghan forced herself to pull her mouth away from Jason's, immediately wishing she could disappear. Don stood in the doorway, blocking the light with his height, and behind him, she could see Danny holding his gun loosely at his side. She quickly covered her face with her hands, as if that could protect her from the fathers' mildly sarcastic expressions.

Jason cleared his throat and upon seeing Meghan hide behind her hands, he flashed an enormous smile at his father and godfather. "Hi, Dad, and…Danny." He ran a hand through his hair and turned to Meghan. "I think… I need to call a lawyer."

Meghan shook her head, hands still over her face. "Don't make it worse, Jase, please."

He smirked and pulled one hand away. A brown eye peered out at him and he licked his lips, flashing her a half-smile. "Well, I'm in a spot of trouble here, Meg."

She dropped her hands, and stared at him. "No way," she drawled, voice laced with sarcasm. She cast another terrified glance at her father before glaring at Jason. "Some odds. What are the chances they'd get the 'one' out of a 'million to one'?"

Jason sighed and stared at his feet. "I don't want to hear it." He bit his lip and wished he could disappear into the ground. "How'd you find us?"

Danny gripped his gun tighter, fighting the urge to bash the kid's head in. "I used to think just like you."

Jason winced and sighed dejectedly. Punishment was not going to be lenient this time.

A chuckle behind the two grown men caused the whole party to look up in surprise. There was Sheldon Hawkes, leaning against the wall, a smug grin on his face.

"You know, some part of me was waiting for this to happen."

---

**A/N:** The author's notes I gave you before were half-assed. The real reason I haven't written in the past month or so is because it hasn't exactly been a great month. I had my heart broken, and I didn't feel like writing much Meghan/Jason fluff. But my muse has given me a swift kick the rear and told me that I'm an idiot. So thanks for reading and a new chapter will be up asap.


	21. Quiet

For the life of her, Meghan couldn't figure out which was worse: Danny's silence or Don's angry questions. From the time Don and Danny had hoisted her and Jason out of the closet, to the silent ride home, to bidding Jason goodnight at her door while the fathers stood at a silent impasse, to sitting on the couch while Danny explained it all to Lindsay in their bedroom, Meghan was silent. Except for a, "See you tomorrow," to Jason, she hadn't trusted herself with one ounce of sound around her father. She had gone from stark raving mad to a little scared to stark raving mad again.

She tucked her knees up to her chest, wondering how far she could get in a taxicab before her parents noticed she was missing. According the clock above the microwave, they had been in there for twenty minutes. No, wait…twenty-one. She sighed and blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, getting mildly bored with the whole thing. No matter what she did, no matter how hard she worked, she always ended up back here, sitting on the couch in her pajama pants and NYPD sweatshirt, waiting for her parents to pass judgment. She vaguely wondered if Jason was getting the same treatment. A faint buzzing on her stomach made her jump, and she reached into the pocket of the hoodie.

_How busted are you?_ Jason's text made her smile and she checked her parents' door before pressing reply on her phone.

_The jury's still out on that one._

Jason smirked and thought for a moment before replying. He lay shirtless on his bed in his darkened room, staring at the ceiling. Don hadn't said anything when they had walked in the door of the apartment, while Stella had merely pointed to his door and said, "Go." He could hear them discussing his punishment in the kitchen. Likely his father was downing several beers. It wasn't like Jason and Meghan had gone any farther than what the dads found them doing, but the threat was still there.

He smirked at the ceiling, eager to share his thought with Meghan.

_I love how our parents can handle a bomb without batting an eyelash, but finding us in a closet means corporal punishment. _

_What we did was similar. _

_Similar. Not the same._

_Don't try the loophole theory, Jase. It doesn't work._

_Damn. I was close_.

Meghan smiled. He **was** close. They had set off a bomb in the parentals' lives. The look on Danny's face had confirmed that he wasn't ready for post-prom antics. Not to mention's Don's steely grip on Jason's arm as they had left.

The bedroom door opened and Meghan shoved her phone back in her pocket, hugging her knees even closer to her chest as Lindsay stepped out, followed closely by Danny. Lindsay's amber eyes were filled with disappointment and Meghan winced in guilt. Suddenly she felt like she had let everyone down…and Jason had only kissed her!

"They're so screwed for senior prom," Meghan thought as she watched Lindsay sink down onto the couch next to her. Danny remained standing, arms folded across his chest, blue eyes glaring sternly behind glass lenses.

"We were just wondering…what were you thinking when you left school and started walking through the dark streets of New York to go to a police station?" Lindsay's voice was calm, without a trace of the confusion she was feeling.

Meghan bit her lip and stared down at her knees, fighting tears. When she put it like that, Lindsay had a way of making the whole experience sound less magical than it was. Which, Meghan supposed was the job of a mother.

"Answer your mother," Danny barked, making Meghan and Lindsay jump. His voice was thick with anger and Staten Island inheritance.

"We just wanted to get away from the security," Meghan spoke clearly, still glaring at her knees. Danny was taken aback for a moment, unsure how to reply. Lindsay watched him frantically for an answer. It took him a moment, but Danny soon bounced back, taking a step forward as his eyes narrowed. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"

For the first time all night, Meghan's brown eyes rose to meet his, and he was almost frightened by the anger there. "I mean, **Dad**, that we're tired of you guys always followin' us around. We're not fugitives. And, well, Jason and I were havin' fun until you guys showed."

"So you can't have your idea of fun around us, is that it?" Danny jumped eagerly on Meghan's slip up, getting caught in the moment. She stood quickly, furious at his suggestion. "Do you think that the only time we can have fun is when we're fuckin' one another?"

"Meghan!" Lindsay stood as well, hands on her hips. She was cut off by Danny's hand, thrust in her face. "No, Linds, let her. If she wants to cuss like an adult, she can face adult consequences."

"Adult? You think I'm bein' an adult here?" Meghan scoffed, crossing her arms in a mirror image of her father. "Okay, well, at least one of us is. How 'bout you stop playin' spy and start bein' the grownup again, Dan?"

"Danny-" Lindsay warned as Danny stepped up the coffee table, hands balled into fists. Meghan flinched but didn't step back, her eyes blazing in her face. "I am your father. You will not talk to me in that tone-"

"My father!" Meghan shrieked, throwing up her hands in a bitter laugh. "When the hell have you been **that** in the last four years, huh? All I've known for those years is Detective Daniel Messer, one of the crime lab's best. How 'bout you quit bein' the cop and start being my dad?"

"I am, Meghan! My job is to keep you safe, and as a father I'm tryin' to do that!"

"No, as a police officer, you're doin' that! As a father, you're ruinin' my life!"

Danny's jaw clenched fiercely, a vein throbbing in his temple as his temper caught up with him. "If I'm ruinin' your life so goddamned much, how do you explain the fact that **you **were the one that caught up in a Tanglewood fight?"

Neither father nor daughter noticed as Lindsay sank onto the couch, head in her hands. "Oh, my God," she mumbled.

"You did a background check on my friends?" Meghan stood rigid, her hands balled into fists at her sides, like she was getting ready for a big fight.

"No, but I do remember your friend's father. Ryan, right? Yeah, big supporter of Sonny Sassone. If I've told you once, I've told you a million times, Meghan, you do **not** get caught up in that kind of crowd!"

"I didn't! There was a misunderstanding and Jason and Tommy got caught in the middle of it."

"And you drag Jason into it, how sweet."

"You don't know anythin'! Jason was protectin' me!"

"From what? From what you say, this Tommy guy ain't that bad."

"He's…he's not."

"Yes, Meghan, he is. All Tanglewood Boys are bad news. I can tell you that, your ma can tell you that, and Mac can tell you that. Don't fall into their games, Meghan…"

"I'm not stupid, Dad! I won't fall into their tricks like you!" Meghan's eyes dropped to the floor as she realized the implications of her statement. Lindsay looked up in horror, opening her mouth to reprimand her only child.

"So, my past mistakes make me stupid?" All the fight had gone out of Danny in one swift blow. His voice was quiet and weak. His hands hung to his sides, defeated. Meghan didn't move; she barely dared to breathe. "I made a mistake back then, Meghan. It was stupid and reckless, but without it, I never would have gotten into a good school, gotten a good job, met amazin' friends, or met your mother. I don't even know if you would have been born. So before you go raggin' on my past, remember that it's taken a lot more than one bad blunder to get me where I am today." He strode to the coat rack, grabbed his jacket, threw it on, and flung open the door, slamming it forcefully shut behind him. Meghan jumped but kept her gaze focused on the floor; she couldn't bring herself to look at Lindsay when the older woman stood as well, crossing to the coat rack.

"Go to bed, Meghan. We'll talk about your punishment in the morning." Lindsay's voice was deadly and tears began to prick at Meghan's eyes. She nodded, still fascinated with the hardwood.

It wasn't until the door shut gently behind her mother that Meghan broke down and started crying, sobbing into her hands with all she had.

---

The phone buzzed on her nightstand and Meghan wiped the tears from her eyes to get a good look at the message that popped up on the screen.

_Haven't heard from you in a while. How bad was it?_

She sniffed and started to type, eyes still blurry from crying.

_Bad, Jason. Really bad. Yelling bad._

She only had a minute to wait before his reply came.

_How bad yelling? _

_I called him stupid. _

_O. _

_And a bad father._

_Yikes. _

_And a terrible influence and example. _

_Jesus. All that? _

_In so many words, yeah. _

…

_What?_

_Where is he now? _

_I don't know. He stormed out and my mom went after him. _

_So they're gone? _

_Yup. I doubt they'll come back after the crappy things I said. _

_I'll be over in five. _

_No, Jason. _

_Yes, Meghan. You need me more than I need me right now. _

_What? _

_Confucius say, man who make no sense make no cents. _

_He did not. _

_Somewhere, I bet he did. _

_You're full of it. _

_Thanks. _

_Welcome. Hey, I had a lot of fun. You know, minus the dads, and the yelling, and Tommy…_

_Who mentioned Ryan? _

_My dad. Did you…? _

_Meghan. I would never break a promise to you. I told him nothing. _

_Really? _

_Yes! They tortured me and I still kept quiet. I gave up chocolate cake for you, girl! _

_You are such a woman. _

_Then why are you dating me? _

_I like weird people. _

_Explains why you look in the mirror so much. _

Meghan laughed weakly. He really knew how to cheer people up. _You're not funny. _

_Then why are you smiling? _

Meghan looked up in surprise to see Jason standing at her window, waving sheepishly. She got up and crossed to the sill, pressing her fingers against the glass. "Hi," she whispered, amazed at how good his presence made her feel.

"Hi," he mouthed back, and then something more, which she took to mean, "I'm cold, let me in, or I'm gonna freeze!" She giggled and pulled open the window to let him inside.

Jason jumped in quickly, blowing on his hands from the cold. "Jesus, woman, you take forever!"

"I'm sorry." Meghan smiled shyly at him and tilted her head up to look at him. "God, you're tall."

"The better to lean down and kiss you with, my dear," Jason mumbled, his lips already firmly pressed against hers. Meghan rolled her eyes but kissed him back anyway.

They pulled apart breathing heavily and Jason ran his thumb over her bottom lip. "God, I never get tired of that."

"We've been going out for all of one day, Jase."

"But I've wanted to kiss you since we were five, Meg." His gaze was so intense that Meghan wanted to look away, but couldn't. Those green eyes were mesmerizing.

Then he shook his head, and she cocked an eyebrow. "What's the matter?"

"I don't have long. My parents will be checkin' on me soon, and God knows when yours will be back. Meet me tomorrow at the gym."

"Tomorrow's Sunday."

"Good job."

"The gym's closed."

"Nothin' gets past you."

"What're we gonna do at a closed gym, Jason?"

"You'll see. Meet me there right after mass."

"I'll try."

"Meghan…"

"Fine, I promise."

"Good." Jason kissed her again, a little fiercer this time. "I had a great time too," he whispered before slipping back out her window. Meghan watched as he snuck off down the street in the direction of his apartment building. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her and she softly yelled, "Jason!"

He turned, running back to her window with effortless ease, and she was reminded of Tony and Maria from West Side Story. "Did you really give up chocolate cake for me?"

Jason flashed that perfect smile and winked. "No, but for you, I would give up basketball. Goodnight."

Sighing, she closed the window and crawled back into bed, unwilling to let the sadness overtake her again. That Jason Flack was something else.

---

**A/N:** It's not long, and it may not be perfect, for it was written in a fit of brilliance at 1:30 this morning, but it's something, right?

Now, you know what I want now! Just press the little button next to the box that says "Submit Review" and I'll be a happy woman! Thank you!


	22. Let It Be

**A/N:** I'm trying to update as soon as I can, but I'm fighting against a raging sea of mental lockdown over here. This chapter is dedicated to Stella and Lindsay, because I don't think I write enough about their intake of all this drama. :D Enjoy, please.

---

"Straighten your tie, Jason. We're going into Mass." Don didn't even look at his son as he uttered the first words Jason had heard from him in twenty-four hours. Stella cast her husband a disapproving look, but she didn't argue.

Jason sighed and adjusted the piece of cloth hanging around his neck. Nine-thirty Mass at St. Augustine's was supreme punishment. He hadn't gotten back from Meghan's until one-thirty that morning, hadn't been able to fall asleep until three, and Don was pounding on his door at six as part of his punishment. Jason still couldn't understand why he and Meghan were being so harshly punished for something they hadn't even done. He had kissed her; that was all. In Jason's mind, there were worse acts of rebellion than sneaking away and making out in the supply closet at the workplace of the parents. But he hadn't been brave enough to say that to his father. Jason hadn't been brave enough to complain when Don sent him out running for 3 miles in Central Park. He just put on his shoes and did it. He knew what happened when you back-sassed Don Flack Jr.

The family of three climbed out of the Suburban and began walking towards the church, Stella's arm linked through Don's while Jason walked ahead. He wondered if Meghan was going to the same service as he. They wouldn't be allowed to sit together, but he would at least see that she was okay. She hadn't texted him after he left last night, so he didn't know if Danny had gotten home in one piece. That was another reason Jason wanted Meghan to be here. He wanted to see Danny, to let Danny know that he didn't mean anything less than gentlemanly with Meghan. It was suicide, sure, but Jason Donald Flack did not run away from danger.

Even if that danger knew more embarrassing facts about him than his own mother and would use them to the greatest advantage.

As he climbed the steps into the church, he went on full alert. There was Mike, questioning him with gray eyes. Jason shook his head slightly, tilting it towards his father while making a face. Mike barely nodded and turned back to his parents. He would have to wait until Don and Stella were occupied elsewhere to talk to Jason; that look meant trouble.

Jason pulled open the heavy door of the church and held it for his mother. Don gestured for him to go, taking the burden of the door. Jason knew that it wasn't out of kindness his father did this. Don was keeping him in full sight, with no room to disappear. Jason had pulled a Houdini one too many times for any leniency to be shown. As he dipped his hand in the holy water, Jason half-expected to be burned. More and more, he felt like a dangerous criminal that was coming to beg forgiveness. He looked up at the gigantic crucifix on the wall behind the altar. Jesus stared down at him with stern eyes and Jason winced. He was tired of getting that look from everyone and their grandmother. He slid into the pew behind his mother and knelt quickly, clasping his hands in prayer.

_Bless me, God, for I have sinned. How, I'm not really sure, but maybe you could help me out on that. Isn't it allowed that people should be happy? Meghan makes me happier than anyone else on this entire planet. I really like her. I don't mean, "Yes, she's a quite enjoyable girl to be around." I mean, "Christ, don't let anything happen to her, because if it does, I'll die." I used to think that when I got married, she would be behind me, cheering me on. But now, after all we've been through, I think I love her. Jesus, that's terrifying. What's even more terrifying is the fact that if I told her, I don't know what she'd do. _

_I know what my old man would do. He'd tell me I'm being ridiculous. But am I, God? You know everything. Help me out, here. _

---

Don watched his son pray out of the corner of one piercingly blue eye. Jason had inherited everything physical from him, except his eyes. Those were Stella's eyes in that boy's face. But the facial structure, the tall, lanky frame, the hands that could palm a basketball: those were all Flack features. Hell, Jason had even inherited the crooked smile that Don had been insecure about when he was sixteen.

But Jason was never insecure. He never doubted himself, never once questioned his motives. He knew what he wanted in life, and he went for it. That's what scared Don so much about last night. If Jason had wanted to lose his virginity, he would have. At sixteen, Don Flack Jr. could barely talk to a girl without his friends nearby. Thankfully, he had outgrown that drawback. Jason had grown up with natural confidence in himself. He shone with self-assured knowledge; certain whatever he did around the female population would be accepted and loved.

Which is why, when he had stood up for Meghan against those thugs, Don was confused. Jason could have any girl in the world. What made him go after Danny Messer's only child, the little girl the lab had loved since before she was born? It wasn't that Don didn't love Meghan; he adored her like she was his own kid. It was just that Meghan had the potential to be so much more than a policeman's wife. It was expected of Jason to carry on the Flack line: it's what he had wanted since he was a boy. Meghan didn't seem like the type of girl who would put up with the stressful hours and anxious waiting.

Don didn't want that for her. He didn't want either of them to experience pain, but Jason was tough. He could handle whatever life on the force brought him. Meghan was destined to be a great writer, showing pain in ink rather than on her face. God knew that family didn't deserve anymore fingernail biting than they had already had.

Last night, Jason had been responsible for whatever happened to Meghan. He was a smart enough kid to know that disappearing in New York was not an option. And yet, the two of them had wound up in a closet five blocks from the school. Don was disappointed if nothing else. Had he really been so bad of a father that he not only allowed his son to get the shit kicked out of him, but also gave Jason enough room to sneak off with the daughter of a colleague? Don sighed and glanced at the high ceiling of the church.

_You're a father. Tell me what to do. Although, I bet Christ didn't have this many girl problems._

---

She watched the delicate white rosary beads slip through her fingers, catching momentarily on her wedding ring. It had been Don's grandmother's, and she had cried when he had gotten down on one knee in front of his family and the Christmas tree. She liked to joke with his sisters that he had only been brave enough to do it in front of his mother because they had just started sleeping together. Every member of the family had kissed her, and Dora had whispered in her ear that she wanted grandchildren. Preferably a boy first, to carry on the line.

Two years later, Jason was born.

Stella sighed and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. It seemed so long ago that Jason had been taking his first steps, really learning how to be a human being. Now, all she knew was that her teenage son was sneaking around with girls into remote places that she didn't like to be in. Jason was a walking bag of hormones. It was really tough on Don, because he had skipped this part of high school. Talking to girls had come more naturally in college. Don didn't know how to deal with Jason's rebellious nature.

The hardest part for her as a mother was trying to understand Jason and Meghan's recklessness. Yes, it was wrong for Danny and Don to follow them to the dance and spy on them. But with all the dangers that came with living in New York City, along with the threat of Tanglewood that Lindsay had mentioned, the fathers were entitled. Stella found no fault in Don's actions.

Still, Stella regretted the tension that had formed between her husband and her only child. In a job where she saw what happened when children were oppressed and parents angered, she feared that one day, either man would snap and she would be left alone to clean up the pieces.

Her rosary shifted between her fingers again and she looked down at the face of Mary, nestled between the beads. Her heart calmed and her thoughts stopped racing. _You had a son once, _she thought, gently stroking the Madonna's face. _How did you relate to him?_

She reached over and absentmindedly stroked the back of Jason's neck, something she used to do to calm him down when he was only a baby. Her eyes drifted over to where she could see Lindsay through a break in the crowd. Lindsay wasn't Catholic, but she went to Mass with Danny and Meghan to keep the family together in the faith department. Stella's heart went out to her friend. The Messer house must have been a war zone this morning. She sighed and let her steady jade gaze drift back to her son, who was squirming faintly under her fingers. She smiled fondly at her oldest, youngest, _only_.

_I love you and you are mine._

---

Lindsay stared straight ahead at the balding crown of the man in front of her, acting as a silent buffer between the seething Italians on either side of her small body. On her right, Danny prayed, staring at the altar with a fierce determination, his lips moving frantically. On her left, Meghan knelt, staring at her folded hands resting on the pew in front of her. Her brown hair was twisted into a braid at the nape of her neck, and for the first time Lindsay noticed how long it was. The plait reached to the middle of Meghan's back, stray locks twisting free rebelliously.

That's what Meghan was – a rebel. She stayed in the scheme of things long enough, but eventually she couldn't take it and she twisted free of the general flow, choosing her own course. She was like her father that way.

Danny stiffened next to her in a sigh, then relaxed, sliding back onto the pew. He reached for Lindsay's hand and she twined her fingers with his. The white scar of his "accident" seventeen years ago was only a memory under her touch. It astounded her that a man so fierce in the line of fire could be so gentle with a newborn in his arms. The day they had brought Meghan home, Lindsay had rested on the couch while Danny introduced their daughter to every inch of the apartment.

"See, baby? This is where you'll sleep. Grandma Monroe made you this quilt, and Nona knitted this blanket. We figured a little Montana and a little New York to keep you warm would work out nicely with your genes." He had grinned cheekily at Lindsay, and she couldn't help but grin back. He turned gently, showing the baby everything in the room. Lindsay chuckled at how Meghan's blue eyes, already showing traces of brown, were attached only to her father's face. "Here's the crib Don helped Daddy build… and here's the color scheme a very pregnant Stella and a very pregnant Mommy picked out while Daddy and Don shopped for baby Jason."

He had looked down then, and Meghan had given her first ever smile. "Hey, now, don't get too excited. I'll be keeping a close eye on the both of you. He won't get far with that Flack charm."

She cooed in her blankets and reached for Danny's glasses. He offered a finger and tiny fingers wrapped around the digit, eyes wondering. "What are we gonna do with you?" He whispered, barely loud enough for Lindsay to hear. "You've already stolen one man's heart, and you're not even talkin'."

Lindsay squeezed Danny's hand in her own, biting her lip to hold back tears. She could see him glance at her out of the corner of his eye, but she remained staring blankly into space, memories flashing in front of her that only she could see. When had the two of them stopped being allies against her more serious nature and become enemies trying to see who could piss off each other more? Meghan and Danny, the rebels. She had never envied her husband when people said that Meghan resembled him more in nature and looks. Lindsay had been somewhat of a Daddy's girl herself. It was true: Meghan was more Messer than she was Monroe. But the fiery temper that came out whenever she was angry was all from her mother and for the first time in her life, Lindsay regretted that.

Last night had been the third worst night of her life. Danny's time spent in the weird billionaire's panic room and the night her friends had been shot and killed were the only worse scenarios she could think of. That was sad. And frightening. Danny's angry silence combined with Meghan's enraged accusations would haunt Lindsay for quite a while. Even though she wasn't a full-blown Catholic, she looked at the picture of Mary on the altar and the words she had heard Danny mutter so often naturally came to her mind.

_Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus… I know you can hear me. Help me, please._

---

Danny felt Lindsay's grip on his hand and he saw the tears in her eyes. He wanted to comfort her, but that was a little difficult when he didn't know what exactly to comfort her about. The head of brown hair on her immediate left gave him some idea, however.

As seemed to be the case whenever he thought about his daughter, Danny's insides clenched angrily. How dare she speak to him like she had last night? How dare she sneak around behind his back with a boy? How dare Jason let her do such a thing, but still Danny had no doubt that the majority of the idea came from her. How dare she mess around with Tanglewood, especially when she knew what that meant to him and this family? Danny pushed up his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He needed severe therapy to deal with all this. Or a vacation.

Thinking of a vacation made him reminisce about the night before, when Lindsay had come to claim him before he did anything stupid. She had found him where he always liked to think, pacing outside of the Central Park Zoo. He hadn't realized that's where his feet had taken him until she had called his name and he looked up through a haze of tears.

"Oh, Danny, she didn't mean it. She couldn't have." Lindsay thought the tears were because of Meghan's cruel words; she couldn't know that it went much deeper than that.

"No, she meant every word, Linds. I was her age once. I remember." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I can't believe I'm still fightin' Tangle wood. I thought it was over when Louie died, but…" His grief overtook him and he shed silent tears into Lindsay's jacket as her arms went around him.

"Danny, it's not like she's joined up."

"No, but once you get involved, it takes forever to get out. Hell, I almost joined up, and look how long it's taken me. I don't want that for her." He wiped his face and replaced his glasses. "I mean, no, I'm not pleased with what she said, but all this goes deeper than that. The repercussions from her actions could result in massive injuries."

"Please don't say that, Danny." It was Lindsay's turn to hide in his arms, to forget her fears in the lapels of his coat. "I can't take that."

"Well, that's what happens when you mess with Tanglewood. It's as regular as sin."

They stood in silence for a moment, watching the leaves blow against the ground in the cold night air.

"Linds?"

"Hmm?"

"Am I a bad father?"

"No."

"But what Meghan said was true. I am more of a cop than I am a dad."

"Not all the time. I'm pretty sure it was Dad who taught her how to spit on people from our fifth-floor office window, not Detective Messer."

"But all she remembers are the times I've brought her down."

"That tends to stick out with teenagers, yes."

"I just don't know if I'm doin' this right. When she was a kid, I could handle it better because she was so simple to take care of. I can't deal with this."

"We have to, Danny. It's a part of her growth."

"Yeah, well, it blows."

"After tonight, I am not inclined to argue with you."

He kissed his wife gently on the forehead, and looked into those deep amber eyes that hadn't changed since their first meeting, at the very spot they were standing now. "What would I do without you, Montana?"

She shrugged happily and snuggled into his warm arms. "Probably go insane."

Danny groaned as she began walking back in the direction of their apartment. "I wasn't aware that I hadn't already."

As the priest began to give the Gospel reading, Danny thought. He wasn't focused on Scripture today; it was more of a present day meditation. He thought about his own father, and how the man could never stay sober enough to care about whom his sons ran around with. He thought of his mother, who should have been sainted by now for all the work she had done in his life. He thought of his colleagues, who managed to keep him focused on the task at hand, even if more pressing matters were pulling his mind away.

He thought of Lindsay, his anchor and shield, always there for him even when he didn't want to be there himself.

He thought of the Tanglewood Boy, Tommy, whom he had never met but hated anyway.

He thought of Jason, his godson, who managed to push his buttons and make him smile all at the same time. Danny was sure, wherever the kid was, that he was sorry for what he had done, but he was also proud of his actions. A double-edged sword was Jason's favorite weapon.

He thought of Meghan, standing quiet and pensive, much like himself. She was his pride and joy, the proof in life that there was a God, and God had a wicked sense of humor. She pissed him off and made him laugh; worried him and gave him strength. She was proof that he and Lindsay were meant to be, and that even the most innocent looking of creatures could be dangerous. He shook his head slightly, smiling to himself. After last night, he didn't know what to think.

But, did any parent of a teenager ever fully know what to do?

---

Mass ended with the usual corny priest jokes and tired laughter from the congregation. Meghan's muscles tensed under her cool façade. Now was the time she needed to get away. Sneaking away after last night's shenanigans wasn't the best idea Jason had ever had, but something told Meghan that she needed to do this. She needed to see him and talk to him. God only knew when she'd be allowed to again.

"Hey, Meghan!" Erin's voice cut through the noise of people leaving the church, and Meghan saw her chance. She held out her arms in a hug-like gesture, smiling. When Erin bounded into her arms, Meghan clutched her tightly, not ready to let go. _"I need you to do me the favor of all favors,"_ she hissed in her best friend's ear, and Erin nodded in reply. _"Distract my parents while I go meet Jason."_

"_Why is that a favor?"_ Meghan could hear the smile in Erin's voice and she knew that the other girl was playing along nicely.

"_I'll tell you later. Just, please?"_ Erin nodded again and pulled out of Meghan's arms. "Hey, Detectives Messers! How's it goin'?" She nudged Meghan playfully and the young woman smiled. Lindsay immediately struck up a conversation with Erin, while Danny stood behind and watched Meghan carefully. It took Erin a few minutes, but eventually she slipped in her cue without a hitch.

"Hey, I think I saw Abby Williams over there, and she wanted to ask you about something musically related." Erin rolled her eyes dramatically at Lindsay and Danny. "I told her that you guys were all sticking together, but she doesn't know when she'll get the chance again."

"Can I go talk to her?" Meghan crossed her fingers behind her back, praying with every ounce of faith she had. _God, let them say yes, and I'll never swear again…in English, anyway…_

"Head right home when you get done, Meghan." Were Lindsay's only instructions and Meghan nodded before rushing out into the crowd. Her goal was to put as much space between her and her parents as humanly possible before Erin gave up and went back to her own family. She made a mental note to give her best friend an Oscar-ish trophy when they saw each other again. That was the best acting she had seen in a long time.

Meghan slipped out of the heavy wooden doors, nodded politely to Father Dominic standing on the steps, and raced across the street to St. Xavier's. The school was so close to the church that it was almost reckless to be going there, but Jason knew what he was doing. She snuck around the brick walls and reached the gym doors just in time. The majority of the congregation came flooding out, and for one heart-stopping moment, Meghan thought Jason had been incapable of escaping. But when she reached for the door handle, it gave way easily, and she breathed a sigh of relief. The boy was good.

As she stepped into the darkened gym, she realized all the decorations had yet to be put away. Streamers still hung from the rafters and balloons littered the corners of the room. She stepped a little further in, propping the door open for some light. Memories of the previous night filled her thoughts and she smiled. She could even see the spot where Jason had kissed her.

"Meghan?" The sound of her own name frightened her into jumping and strong arms encased her waist in a familiar gesture. "Glad to see you got away," Jason said hotly into her ear. She nodded and spun in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck in a loving embrace. "Likewise." She tilted her head back, wrinkling her nose in confusion. "How is that, exactly?"

"Overactive bladder." He smiled at her look of disgust and she shook her head. "I don't wanna know."

"They really need to make those bathroom windows smaller. Kids could sneak out any time they wanted, if they had a mind." His impish grin widened as Meghan rolled her eyes sarcastically. "You are a dork." She kissed the tip of his nose playfully. "But you're my dork, so it's all good, I suppose." Looking around the gym, she shivered. "It's creepy in here. Why on earth did you want to meet here?"

"I think last night ended a little too quickly, don't you?" Jason's arms tightened around Meghan's frame and she smiled shyly. "Yes, I think so."

Her face tilted upwards, lips soft and inviting. Jason groaned inwardly and licked his own, head bending slowly. He watched her eyes slowly flutter shut and his followed suit. With the feel of her breath on his lips, Jason completed the millimeters between their mouths with a sweet victorious sigh.

Then the door of the gym flew open, flooding them both in New York sunshine. Meghan pulled back and turned to see who it was. Jason watched as her eyes flew open and her fingers covered her mouth in shock. "Oh, my God."

Expecting to see the entire NYPD taskforce at the door, Jason turned, ready to give up and go quietly. The intruder, however, was not who he expected, and rage bubbled in his chest like an untamed tiger.

"Holy shit."


	23. Implosion

"Un-fuckin'-believable." Tommy's voice was deadpan and Jason felt Meghan flinch in his arms. "You people really can't keep your hands off one another for more than five fuckin' minutes!" He stepped further into the gym, his hands shoved into the pockets of his coat, hunching his shoulders against the cool morning air.

"Tommy," Meghan whimpered. "What…are you…_doing_?" She twisted her body so that she was facing him, but her arm stayed wrapped around Jason. He was reminded, with a bittersweet tang, that she had chosen him over Tommy, and that it was because of that decision that they were in this mess. Jason remembered something his father had once told him about being in a corner. The best means of escape are ones the criminal would never think of.

Jason tried to move Meghan behind the shelter of his body, but his movements weren't small enough. Tommy's eyes narrowed and he snarled, "Watch it, Flack. You keep pullin' her away from me and I might just have to kill you."

Meghan froze then and Jason tried not to get angry. Anger clouded his head and kept him from thinking rationally. "Tommy," he tried, choking on his own air, "I think we should talk about this, man-"

"There's nothin' to fuckin' talk about!" Tommy's voice got louder with each word and Jason stopped, breathing deeply.

Tommy shook his head like a wounded animal and stalked closer to them, never walking in a straight line. He was weaving, and Jason suspected alcohol was involved in Tommy's decision-making process. He noticed the slight slurring of Tommy's words and tried not to panic. A pissed off Tanglewood Boy was trouble; an intoxicated, pissed off Tanglewood Boy was deadly. His eyes drifted down to Tommy's pockets, where the boy's hands were firmly crammed, and he started praying for all he was worth. _Please, please, please; don't let this be what I think it is._

Jason snapped back to reality when he realized Tommy was speaking. At first the words were so quiet, he couldn't make anything out, but the other young man got steadily louder, and Jason didn't want to hear anymore.

"Tony said I should have taken care of you at the beginning, Flack. He said you wouldn't be a problem if you weren't around." The boy looked up, frustration and anger in his eyes. "But I knew that if I took you out, there would be bigger problems to deal with than my need. But you," he pointed at Jason angrily with one hand, "you took her _away_ from me. I mean, I never even had a chance!

"And now, I'll never get one. Because you two are something that I only wished for." Tommy's eyes were misty as his anger turned to Meghan. "You never gave me a chance, Meg. Why?"

Jason looked down to see tears rolling down Meghan's cheeks, never leaving her skin as she shook her head. "I-I-don't know-"

"It's because you were always with him!" Tommy erupted, making Meghan squeak with fear. "Goddammit, Flack, I never got a chance because you never gave me one! You always take whatever you want, and no one can get in otherwise. I'm not sorry my brother jumped you that day after school, because I got to see you on the losing end." A manic grin spread across Tommy's face, and Jason feared the worst. "I love seein' you down," he whispered. "And now, you're gonna be down for a while. And I'm okay with that."

Jason saw the gun come out of Tommy's pocket in slow motion, almost like he was a spectator instead of a participant. He realized they had slowly backed into the corner farthest from the gym doors, and he struggled to keep a cool head.

_Keep him away from Meghan_, echoed through his mind, as Tommy aimed the weapon at his chest.

"All I ever wanted was one chance, Flack. One." Tommy's thumb cocked back the hammer and Jason's sightline started to shake. It took him a moment to realize Meghan was trembling, begging with Tommy.

"Please, Tommy, don't do this – not to us – not to me – don't do this – I know what it's like to be caught up in Tanglewood, to feel like you got no way out – this isn't the answer – please, Tommy, don't – " Her sobs rang out through the whole gym, and Jason hoped that she had gotten through to the boy. His life depended on it.

"You don't know, Meghan." Tommy's eyes were focused on Jason's and the latter didn't dare look away. "You don't know what it's like to have to fight to be accepted. Those guys are my family. They're the _only_ ones who stood by me in all of this. They care about me."

"No, Tommy, no – look, I might not know, but I know someone who does, and this, this is not the answer!"

"You were never there, Meghan. You didn't care." His deadpan voice, void of any emotion, terrified Jason more than the weapon in his hand. Don always said, when they showed no remorse, then you were really screwed.

_Ironic,_ Jason thought, _that I think of my father, a man who has been at the end of many gun barrels, at a time like this_. His hand tightened around Meghan's arm, pushing her out of the line of fire. "Let her go, Ryan." Jason's kept his voice quiet, not wanting to startle anything. "Let her out of here. She don't need to see this."

"No, no -" Meghan's pleading fell on deaf ears as the boys sized each other up. Jason held his breath, waiting for a sign. Finally, Tommy shrugged and nodded. "Alright. Meghan, get outta here."

Beautiful, tear-filled eyes looked up at Jason in panic, and he gazed back into their depths. He tried his hardest to convey what he was thinking to Meghan in that single look. If she could only read his mind, know what he was thinking just by his look. It had worked so many times before, he would be furious if it was fruitless now.

Miraculously, Meghan seemed to understand. She nodded and started the slow walk to the gym doors, taking her time. If she timed it just right, she could easily disarm Tommy before he knew what hit him: Mac Taylor didn't train fools.

Unfortunately, Tommy was a little too unstable to care about being a gentleman. In his eyes, Jason was alone and right where Tommy wanted him. The boy didn't care that Meghan was only a few feet away, or that there were people outside who would hear the shot and come running to investigate. All he knew was Jason Flack was at his mercy, mercy he didn't plan on using.

Squeezing the trigger wasn't the satisfying part. It was watching the fine red spray as the bullet hit Jason in the right side, doubling him over in pain. It was hearing the grunt of agony that escaped Jason's lips as he clutched the entrance wound. Tommy heard the bullet hit the gym wall and he knew it had been a clean shot, straight through his victim. The cry that escaped Meghan's lips, animalistic in it's horror was the only disturbing thing about the moment. High and keening, it ripped through his pleasure and brought him crashing down to earth.

About the same time as Meghan's fist pummeled the back of his head, causing him to drop the gun.

Meghan dove for the weapon, but Tommy, in a haze of pain, reacted on instinct and brought his foot crushing down her hand, stopping her. The new noise she made was an exact echo of Jason's, albeit higher and louder. She clutched her left hand to her chest in anguish and Tommy reached down to pick up the revolver, holding it above her head but not cocking it.

"Go ahead," Meghan ground out, her voice gravelly with pain and anger, "Shoot me, asshole. Finish the goddamned job. You'll never get me any other way, so you might as well kill me!

"DO IT!" she screamed and Tommy jumped. His eyes met hers, wild and savage, and he turned and fled, Meghan's screams following him across the hardwood floor. Shame and grief took him over as he broke out into the alleyway, throwing away the gun before he ran, making sure to run in the opposite direction of the weapon. He pushed through a small group of girls, cheerleaders, and tried to get away as quickly as possible. However, they seen the whole ordeal, and they screamed for help before he could get more than a few steps away. He ducked his head and tried to look like a part of the crowd, praying that traffic would keep the cops away.

He didn't count on the God-fearing police, and unfortunately for him, Detective Don Flack was an expert at recognizing guilty consciences.

---

Danny stretched after exiting the church, blinking in the sunlight. Lindsay's hand on the small of his back made him turn and he smiled down at his wife. "Ready?"

Lindsay nodded and leaned into him, just as his phone rang. Sighing, Danny answered it, knowing how infuriated Mac would be if Danny ignored the call, even on a Sunday.

"We just got a call of a gunshot coming from St. Xavier's school." Mac's voice was rushed and Danny could hear people talking behind him. Danny could picture his boss striding through the halls, taking information as it was handed to him.

"I'm looking right at the school, Mac. I haven't heard anything." Danny shook his head at Lindsay, whose eyes grew worried at the mention of the school. Meghan was supposedly over there, talking to someone about something or other.

"Just check it out, please. Take Don with you." Danny scanned the crowd for Flack, but he was surprised to see Don already on the move.

"Sure thing, Mac." Danny hung up his phone and passed Lindsay to an anxious Stella before hurrying after Don. The detective was pushing through the crowded sidewalk. Suddenly, his hand reached out and snatched an innocent looking boy out from the crowd. "Why do I think you've got something to do with this?" Danny heard him snarl and he tried to investigate further by walking down the alley the boy had just come out of.

The small group of girls that came out screaming at him was more than what Danny had bargained for. He held out his hands in attempts to calm them, but all he got was hysterics and more tears. "What happened?"

"Tommy Ryan! He pulled a gun and shot Jason Flack!" One girl spoke up for the rest of the group, mascara making trails down her cheeks as she cried.

Don's heart leapt into his throat and his world spun. "What?" He flung Tommy against the brick wall, ignoring the scandalized looks of passerby. Tommy winced as his eyes met the ice-cold blue ones of the detective, and he lowered his eyes quickly. "The hell is she talkin' about, Tommy?" Flack asked through gritted teeth and Tommy felt his heart plummet into his stomach as he caught sight of Danny turning to watch over Flack's shoulder. His knees almost gave out as two pairs of furious blue eyes glared at him. "Where is he?" Flack demanded, practicing extreme self-restraint as he kept himself from shaking the boy. Tommy opened his mouth and closed it again, afraid of the two men in front of him. "Where's my son, Tommy?"

"Tommy, if you want to ever make it out of jail after this mess, you better tell us where Jason is. **NOW**!" Danny's face was inches away from the young man's and Tommy nodded frantically. "He's in the gym. The gun went off… I think…I know I shot Flack… I don't know about Meghan… I think I broke her hand…" The words spilled out of his mouth like a stampede of wild horses and the detectives stared at him in disbelief. "What the fuck did you just say?" Danny croaked.

"Danny!" Mac appeared like magic behind the two men, grabbing their shoulders and spinning them, allowing a uniform to take hold of Tommy. "You two are off this." As he spoke, Hawkes, several medics, and uniformed officers rushed down the alley way to the gym entrance.

"Mac, I gotta get my daughter." Danny's eyes begged pitifully, and Mac sighed.

"Fine. You, go get Meghan." Danny nodded and pulled away, pushing several people out of the way. "You," he pointed to Don, who was staring over his head at Stella rushing to the scene, "stay out here. We don't need you causing a bigger problem."

"Don!" Stella's green eyes were overflowing as she flung herself into her husband's arms. Lindsay was two steps behind her, searching for Danny.

"He went in for Meghan," Mac explained, letting Stella and Don grieve together. Lindsay's face blanched as one hand covered her mouth. "What happened to Meghan?"

Mac just shook his head and looked sternly at the officer holding a pale Tommy. "Get him to the precinct immediately."

Mike Dillon nodded, cuffing the boy none too gently. Officer Dillon like Jason Flack; the kid could play basketball almost as well as his old man. "You better pray you got a good lawyer kid, although it won't do you much good," he told Tommy and the teenager let his head drop as he was shoved into a squad car. Dillon turned in time to see Don Flack wipe tears from his eyes. "C'mon Jason. Make it out for your old man."

---

Meghan bit her lip against the fiery pain that rushed through her hand. She tried to flex and found that it was impossible. A broken hand was all she had to show for her efforts. She heard Tommy rush out of the gym and the screams that resulted from his appearance. As she looked up to call for help, she saw Jason lying on the gym floor, and fresh tears rushed to the surface. "Jason?" she called, pulling herself to where he lay, conscious of the blood that gathered on the wood floor.

"Is he gone?" Jason asked faintly

"Yeah. H-he is." Meghan's breath hitched and she forced back tears, knowing they wouldn't help. Her hand hurt so bad that she could barely see straight, and it didn't help that even through the haze she knew Jason was fading.

Jason smiled weakly. "Good." His breathing became shallow and Meghan felt a single tear course down her cheek. "Hey," Jason whispered, reaching up to wipe the drop from her chin, "None of that. I'm gonna be fine." His eyes closed and Meghan felt her lip tremble.

"Hold on, Jase, please. Hold on…Oh, God…" Meghan leaned down, placing her forehead on his. "Don't leave me," she whispered. Her right hand clutched his in fervent hope. "Someone, help us."

A moment later, Meghan heard hurried footsteps on the concrete outside the gym and she cleared her throat. "Here, we're here!" she called, cursing the tremor in her voice.

Meghan permitted herself a weak smile when Hawkes came charging through that gym door. A moment later, Danny appeared and Meghan felt a wave of relief sweep through her body, numbing the pain.

The father saw his child's hand twisted into a grotesque form that he knew too well; the CSI saw the evidence against the perpetrator stacking up. Danny rushed past the blood on the floor and snatched up his daughter, pulling her into a fierce hug. He had to fight back tears when the wracking wave of sobs took over her body. Meghan collapsed into her father's strong arms as the rest of the medical team flooded onto the scene, putting Jason's broken body on a stretcher.

"He's still breathing, but barely," Hawkes informed Danny quietly, "he's lost a lot of blood." The detective nodded over his daughter's head. Meghan clung to Danny's shirt, soaking the fabric as she attempted to get her tears under control. "D-Daddy, I didn't know what to do. W-what if he d-dies?"

"Shh, baby. It's gonna be okay, I promise." Danny felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he pulled out the cell. Seeing the caller ID, he answered it quickly. "Hey, I've got her."

On the other end, Lindsay sighed a breath of relief as Jason was loaded into an ambulance and she put an arm around a tearful Stella. "Danny's got her," she informed the older woman and Stella nodded, craning to see over the crowds. Her face was white and Lindsay wrapped a protective arm around her friend for support. Don pushed through the medical team, took one look at his son, and broke down into body-shaking sobs. Every uniform was watching with tears in their eyes as Jason Flack was driven away and Stella reached up around her husband's neck to whisper reassuringly into his ear.

"We're comin' up now." Danny's voice came over the line and Lindsay nodded. "Hurry, Danny."

"I know."

---

**A/N:** Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Two more chapters to go after this and then it's the ending to a great time. I had so much fun writing this for you guys, and thanks for the feedback! I still want to know what you think! Please, gimme reviews!!


	24. A Bullet For You

Meghan felt the slightest bit of remorse for the ME that helped her onto the waiting bed at Our Lady of Mercy's hospital. The poor guy looked like he hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep in over 24 hours, and she wasn't exactly being the most cooperative patient.

"Can I go see Jason now?"

"Who?" The guy checked both her eyes with a flashlight before moving on to the small nuclear war raging in her left hand.

"Jason? The bullet victim? What, are you kiddin' me?" Meghan rolled her eyes, trying to push herself up off the bed. "I gotta make sure he's okay."

The man, whose name Meghan could now remember was Bryan, gently shoved her back onto the bed, fixing her with a stern eye. "We've got doctors looking out for your friend. Can you please sit still so that I can go home to my girlfriend?"

"Sure." Meghan's smile was all teeth and no heart. "Thank God you've still got her."

Bryan fixed the girl with a sarcastic stare, wrapping the blood pressure cuff a little to tightly around her arm. Meghan winced but didn't say anything else.

The medic worked steadily, and in a moment he finished up, patting her knee reassuringly. "I'm sure your friend is going to be just fine."

Lips pressed tightly together with worry, all Meghan could do was nod. The man sighed and set off through the hospital to find a doctor free to work on her hand. Meghan was thinking about getting up off the bed and going to find Jason herself when a middle aged man wearing a lab coat and scrubs stepped up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know that look. It was the same look your father used to get whenever he and your mother were injured in the line of duty and we would have to separate them to get any work done. You're not going anywhere, miss."

Meghan flashed a bit of the Messer charm at the doctor and allowed him to go over her hand. She was thankful for the fact that he didn't prod much, just examined with a careful ease. When he pulled back, she looked up at him and repeated the mantra she had been saying since she got in the ambulance.

"Where's Jason? Can I see him now?"

The doctor shook his head, smiling gently. "Meghan, we're going to need to operate. Your hand is crushed in several places."

"So that would be a no?" She watched with a sinking heart as the doctor nodded his head and motioned over a nurse to begin the pre-surgery prep. The nurse brought over a syringe filled with what Meghan desperately hoped was pain medication, because with the anxiety she felt about Jason and the lighting bolts of pain in her hand, she really needed a good knockout.

"Thank God you got here!" Meghan couldn't help being sarcastic. "I was startin' to think I was gonna have to grip a sheet between my teeth and just take it!"

The nurse smiled politely and shot the meds into her arm. Immediately, Meghan could feel her mind slipping away into a peaceful sleep, her senses dulled by the morphine.

"Damn, that stuff is good," she slurred and the nurse chuckled. As Meghan leaned back on the pillows, her mind drifted to Jason on the gym floor, bleeding, and her heart ached worse than her hand.

"_Jason…"_

---

Meghan climbed into the back of the waiting limo that would take her and her family to the cemetery. Don had insisted on a simple funeral, just friends and family. Nothing too extravagant. Meghan supposed that's what Jason would have wanted. He was always a no frills kind of guy.

As Danny crawled in next to her, Meghan bit her lip, holding back tears. Jason hadn't even been dead for a week and she was already thinking about him in past tense. She looked out the tinted glass window to the busy New York street. It amazed her that her life was ending and yet the world went on. Jason's death had been a complete shock to everyone, and Meghan couldn't get the image of Don's face, stark white and crumpled in pain, out of her mind. Every night since the doctor had come out of surgery with the standard, "I'm-sorry-for-your-loss," face, she had woken up screaming, leaving Danny or Lindsay to comfort her.

The cast on her left hand was draped in black for the occasion. She hated the stupid thing. It was a constant reminder that, no matter how hard she had tried, Jason had still been killed.

Bitterly, she thought of Tommy. His trial was next week, and his lawyer was making him plead not guilty to manslaughter, Danny had said. Her gut twisted painfully whenever she heard that. Anyone who said that a sixteen-year-old boy couldn't possibly be guilty of murder didn't know Tommy. She hated the sympathy she got from people when they had no idea what had gone on that day. She had told the detectives everything, after kicking Lindsay out of the room to keep her mother, and herself, from crying. Tommy had gone there with the intention to kill.

"_Would you be willing to testify on the stand against him?" The detective had a kind face as he asked Meghan, and she winced as she shook her head. _

"_No." Danny stepped up and put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You've got your testimony."_

Meghan gripped her hands tightly as the door shut behind Lindsay and the driver set off down the busy streets. Again, Meghan stared at the signs of life that passed by and she died inside. It was unfair that her own personal angel had been taken away from her so cruelly. Jason was her best friend, and she had gotten him killed. Danny called it survivor's guilt, what Meghan was going through, but she knew it went deeper than that. She felt bad for dragging Jason into all of it. The drama with Tommy, her family's past with Tanglewood: all of it.

She was so deeply absorbed in thought that she barely noticed when they entered the cemetery. Up ahead, she could see a crowd of people milling about, but it didn't register that they were there for Jason. The limo stopped and Lindsay grasped her daughter's hand lovingly. "You just tell me if it gets to be too much, hmm?"

Meghan tried to smile, but the muscles around her mouth seemed to be on vacation and she just nodded. Danny climbed out first, offering his hand to his wife. Meghan followed her mother, ignoring Danny's hand. This was going to be hard enough; she didn't want to be made physically weak in front of all these people.

"Meghan!" A weeping Erin threw herself on the young woman, wrapping her arms firmly around her best friend. "Chris and Mike are here too, baby. We're all here for you."

Meghan let out a watery chuckle, aware that her eyes were streaming tears as she patted Erin's back. "Thanks. I feel like a widow."

Erin didn't respond to that as she pressed Meghan closer. The latter buried her face in the crook of her friend's neck, trying to stop the tears before she had to join her parents by the casket.

Strong hands on her back made her jump and she looked up to see Mike, with Chris hanging back, looking at her with sad eyes. "Mike," she cried, pulling away from Erin and catching him in a bear hug. He had to stoop to allow her arms around him, but he hugged her back roughly, sobbing into her shoulder. "Mikey, if you can't keep it together, I'm never gonna make it," Meghan joked lamely in his ear.

"He loved you, Meg. He wouldn't shut up about you." Mike's voice was breathless with emotion and fresh tears rushed to the young woman's eyes. She nodded and let him go, wiping her eyes fruitlessly. Chris patted her back awkwardly before enfolding Erin in comfort.

Meghan squared her shoulders and looked up at the one guy Jason had trusted above all else. "Escort me to the front lines?"

Mike offered his arm gallantly. "Sure."

The four teenagers made their way through the mourners, Erin and Chris hanging back to stand with the rest of the well-wishers from school. Meghan caught Mike casting them a dark look before they moved on and she pressed against him briefly. "What's wrong?"

"They didn't know him like we did. What right do they have to be here?" His eyes were filled with tears as he looked straight ahead and Meghan found that she had no words of comfort. It was true that Jason only had a group of close friends, but he was admired by so many. Those who had come to remember him would thankfully remember him in glory; they would never know the pain he had been in.

She could see Mike's parents standing a little ways away from Stella and Don and her heart panicked. "Stay by me," she whispered frantically to Mike, and he looked at his parents before nodding. "Sure," he said again and Meghan felt better. If she couldn't have the real Jason, she could at least have a part of him.

The service wound on for what seemed like decades, but Meghan was astonished when it finished. People began to fade away, offering comforting words to Stella and Don. A few even came by Danny and Lindsay to grasp their shoulders lovingly and murmur their condolences. Meghan had released Mike when his parents had motioned for him to leave, and he had promised to be around whenever she needed him. She stood by herself, staring at the casket. Her eyes blurred and she didn't bother to wipe the tears away. She was going to cry, goddammit, and she didn't give a rat's ass about who saw. Her best friend was gone.

_I miss you,_ she whispered to Jason's ghost, standing next to her in silence. _I want you back._

---

Meghan jolted awake, wet tears making tracks down her face. The familiar beep of the heart monitor sounded from somewhere around her head and she breathed deeply, trying to calm down. It had been a dream; a terrible, horrible nightmare. The cast on her hand was fresh and she breathed a sigh of relief that it was not draped in black. The dream had been so vividly real, so painfully honest. She reached up to wipe the drops from her face and felt somewhat better.

But Jason was nowhere in sight, which meant that she didn't know if he lived or slept eternally just yet. The pain in her heart came rushing back as she understood that Jason's life was still at stake. She rolled over on her side, carefully avoiding the cast. Sleep came easily this time, and she drifted off to a dreamless existence.

_God, if you take him, I ain't never goin' to church again. You might think you want him up there, but I need him down here, and that trumps your high and mighty ass any day. Don't you take him from me. That's not fair. _

---

"I'm sorry, Detective, but you're going to have to wait." The nurse was an older woman who had seen plenty of police officers come through, wanting to talk to victims. "The young lady is still in recovery from the surgery."

Danny threw up his hands, placing them on his head. "I don't think you understand. That's not just a vic in there, that's my daughter, and her friend…" he stopped for a moment before clearing his throat, "_boy_friend is the one who got shot. He's my godson." He attempted to get past the nurse again, with no luck. She pursed her lips, but her expression had softened, barely.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you're going to have to wait."

Danny let out a strangled yell, glaring at the nurse. "Listen, lady, you don't get it—"

A young doctor walked out of the operating room, wiping his hands on his scrubs. "He's going to be fine," he told Stella and Don, smiling as the couple thanked him profusely.

Danny turned to the woman, his eyes pleading. "Please. I gotta make sure my own kid's okay."

She shook her head, pity written on her features. "I'm sorry, Detective, but I can't—"

Danny felt small hands on his arm and he looked down to see Lindsay pushing him out of the way. "Let me see my daughter. **Now**." Lindsay demanded through gritted teeth and she held up her badge as an extra measure. The nurse hesitated and then reluctantly let the angry woman pass, holding up her hand to stop Danny. "Now, just hold on, sir…"

"Danny! C'mon!" Lindsay's voice echoed angrily through the halls and Danny grinned smugly at the nurse before following his wife down the halls of the hospital.

"Damn, Montana, that was amazin'," Danny whispered, biting his lip as Lindsay glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

She shrugged, face suddenly exhausted. "If I ever learned anything from my mom, it was that a nurse will never deny a mother rights to see her daughter." She shuddered and reached for Danny's hand. He encased her small hand in his larger one, squeezing lightly. "My mom could bully her way into any hospital by the time my youngest brother graduated from high school." She looked up at Danny, eyes full of tears. "Danny, I only want to have to do this once."

He nodded, removing his hand and placing his arm around her shoulders. "Me too, Linds, me too."

It took them a few minutes to find Meghan's room, and Lindsay hesitated outside the door before pushing in. Danny could feel his wife's anguish radiating from her body as she crossed to where Meghan lay sleeping on her side. Lindsay pressed a kiss to the side of Meghan's head, gently stroking her child's hair.

Meghan's eyes fluttered open and she rolled over to examine her parents.

"Is he still alive?" she whispered fearfully.

Lindsay's breath caught in her chest and Danny's eyes were sad. For a moment, Meghan feared the worst.

Danny reached over and stroked her arm, smiling at last. "Yeah, baby. He's comin' out of surgery now. He's fine."

A relieved _whoosh_ of air escaped from Meghan's lungs and she pushed herself off the bed, much to her parents' surprise. "Can I see him _now_, then?"

Lindsay laughed weakly and nodded, helping Meghan stand. "I think so," she said and Danny smiled as the loves of his life left the room to find his godson.

---

Stella was standing outside Jason's room when Meghan rounded the corner, and she let out a cry of relief. "Meghan! Come here, baby!" She swept the young woman in a hug, petting brown locks lovingly. Meghan returned the gesture with as much strength as she could muster, laughing at Stella's face. "I'm fine, Stel. How's my hero?" She nodded at Jason's sleeping form, and Stella turned to look as well. "Why don't you go in and see? He should be waking up here pretty soon."

Meghan needed no further invitation and she slipped in quickly, letting the door shut behind her. Jason's chest rising up and down gently was the only recognition of life she saw in the boy, and the bloodied bandages on his side stopped her in her tracks. She took a moment to catch her breath before awkwardly pulling a plastic chair to Jason's bedside.

Meghan thought about her parents as she watched Jason sleep, surrounded by beeping monitors. In eighteen years of marriage, Danny and Lindsay had never faltered, never threatened to get a divorce, and never questioned the sanity of their union. They had questioned each other's sanity, and sure, they had fought; what functional couple didn't? But in the sixteen years of Meghan's life, she had never seen two people more in love. The story of her parents' love was long and full of strife, but in the end it turned out all right.

There was a certain moment that Meghan adored, a period in their relationship when they really knew they loved each other: when Danny had been beaten to a pulp by the Irish gang and then saved him and Adam from a very messy undoing. Lindsay had woken up that morning being perfectly content with the world only to have it all taken from her in a moment. To hear that someone you love with all your heart is in life-threatening danger was something Meghan never wanted to put anyone through. She didn't like it very much herself.

Her good hand reached out to stroke his and she sniffed back more tears. This was precisely why she hated sad events. There was too much crying. She pulled her hand back to scrub at her eyes quickly.

"Meg?" Jason's voice was weak, but it was music to her ears. She looked up quickly to see his green eyes watching her with poorly veiled concern. "Hey," she said, leaning forward to clutch at his hand again. "How do you feel?"

"Like shit," came his reply, strong and fast. She laughed, bringing his hand up to her face. "I'm sorry," she mumbled and Jason knew she wasn't talking about his pain. His eyes grew soft as he stroked her cheek to the best of his ability. "Don't be," he told her. "I would take a bullet for you any day. That's what happens when you love someone, you would do anything to keep them from being in danger. All I could think was, 'Please, God, not her.' It was terrifying-"

"Did you just say you loved me?" Meghan's eyes were fixed on his, and for the first time in his life, Jason Donald Flack blushed. "Well, yeah, Meghan, I mean, I do, really-"

He was cut off as her lips pressed gently to his, enveloping in natural warmth and comfort. The heart monitor's beeping sped up marginally and Meghan chuckled into his kiss. "I love you too."

---

Danny watched his daughter kiss Jason with stony blue eyes. Lindsay wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "What?"

"I don't care if he saved her life, I _still_ don't like the idea of him dating her."

Lindsay laughed and pulled her husband away to give the young lovers some peace.


	25. And It Was Just Right

**A/N:** I would like to thank you all for a wonderful time with this story, and please stick around for my new CSI:NY fic, Welcome to the Family, which I plan on restarting ASAP.

---

**3 weeks later…**

---

"Jason!"

"Hey, Jase, my man!"

"Sup, Flack!"

"Hi, Jason!"

"Welcome back, Mr. Flack."

"Dude! Can I see your scar?"

Jason smiled and obligingly lifted the hem of his Oxford to show the round, red circle that marred the skin above his right hip. The group of admirers that had so previously been grinning at the St. Xavier's miracle boy's return grew silent at the sight of the angry, puckered flesh. Jason's smirk shrunk as the white cloth of his shirt dropped back over his wound.

"Alright, nothin' to see! Just the conquerin' hero, back from the battlefield!" Mike pushed through the crowd, grinning widely at his best friend. He pulled Jason into a headlock, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Let's get you out of the hallway, hmm?" He began to shove aside the well-wishers. Jason smirked and tugged fruitlessly at the hold Mike had on his neck. Ignoring the disgruntled mutters of their fellow students, Mike pulled Jason into the closest boy's bathroom, not releasing the latter's head until they were out of sight. Finally, Jason was able to pull out of Mike's arms, with a little punching around his friend's ribs. Jason rubbed his neck. "Dude, what the hell?"

"How else was I supposed to get you away from all those girls? They would have been hangin' all over you if I hadn't used force." Mike leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

Jason peered in the long mirror over the sinks, rolling his eyes. "Maybe I liked all the attention. You ever think about that?"

A snort drew his attention to Mike and he held a serious face for a moment before breaking into a brilliant smile. "Where is she?"

Mike jerked his head towards the door. "Homeroom. Erin says you better get in there quick, she's been biting her nails since she got here."

A quick pat on the arm and Mike was left standing alone, shaking his head. A young looking freshman came in, yelling, "Watch where you're going!" He turned to stare at Mike, cocking a thumb over one shoulder. "Who the heck was that guy?"

"That, my juvenile friend," Mike said, pushing up off the wall, "was Romeo lookin' for his Juliet." At the confused look his cryptic answer received, he laughed and sauntered out the bathroom door. "Someday, when you're older, junior."

---

Erin stared nervously at the wall clock above the door. School started in approximately ten minutes, and Jason still hadn't shown up. She had sent Mike out to find the boy, but somehow that didn't seem to help.

Her blue eyes shifted to where Meghan sat, surrounded by a group of gossiping girls, but not really involved in the conversation. She was staring absentmindedly out the window, nodding once or twice when the rest of the group responded accordingly. Her right hand went up to her mouth as she began chewing fretfully on her nails. Erin rolled her eyes and crossed to her best friend, puling the hand away. "Starting a bit early today, aren't we?"

Meghan grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. Sorry." She spun on her desk perch so that her back was to the group. "It's just-" Meghan blinked rapidly as Erin's hand went up in front of her face, cutting her off.

"No. No more what-ifs, self-doubts, or worst case scenarios. You and Jason have been commissioned by your parents to take a break from each other this past week while he was being a couch potato at home. Jason has not gotten his Meghan addiction in _one week_. I think our boy is more than ready to see you again."

"What about his little welcoming committee at the front-"

"Nope." Erin clapped a hand over Meghan's mouth. "He doesn't care about them. It's only you." Something soft and wet slid over Erin palm and she pulled back, disgusted. "Gross. That's so immature, Meghan."

"Thanks." Meghan sighed and swung her legs. She watched her Converse low tops disappear under her uniform skirt and the edge of the desk. So caught up was she in the motion of her legs that she didn't notice when Erin's eyes widened in a smile and the room got uncomfortably quiet. In fact, Meghan was oblivious to the world until familiar warm hands covered her eyes and that deep voice breathed into her ear.

"Guess who."

Meghan couldn't help the tears that caught in her throat. "You. Suck."

Jason's affectionate laugh echoed in her ear as her eyes were released, but strong arms soon enfolded her. "You know, it took forever for me to find you this morning. I had to get kidnapped by Mike. Next time this happens, we're setting up a signal. Like, a bird call or something, 'cause I gotta tell you…" he trailed off as Meghan sniffed sadly. "Aw, shit, Meg… I'm sorry." Jason squeezed his girlfriend gently, wrapping her in a body blanket of comfort.

Shaking her head, Meghan giggled weakly. "It's not your fault. I just don't want this to ever happen again."

"You think I do?" Jason circled the desk, keeping his arms draped around Meghan. "I got a stupid hole in my side."

Meghan held up her left arm, nearly whacking him in the head in the process. The green gauze of the cast glinted dully in the early morning sunlight and Jason winced apologetically. "And you've got a freakin' brick on your hand."

"Yup." Meghan cocked her head to the left, eyebrow raised sarcastically. "You got a week of bed rest and daily treatment. They put me back here two days after I got my cast, and I had to put up with every jealous girl in the school whispering that I got the great Jason Flack shot, and I couldn't see you for a week, and-"

"And you're way stronger than I'll ever be." Jason cut her off for the second time that morning and Meghan beamed up at him. "Hells yes!"

Loud guffaws of laughter had them both looking over Meghan's shoulder at Chris and Mike. Mike flicked his wrist while Chris made customary whip cracking noises. Meghan couldn't help but laugh as Jason's wounded pride pasted itself all over his handsome face. "Hey, Jason, she gotcha openin' doors and slickin' your hair yet?" Mike called over the first bell.

Jason rolled his eyes and pulled Meghan off the desk and into his arms. "I happen to like the collar around my neck, thank you _very_ much." He grinned toothily and kissed Meghan loudly on the cheek. "Please, please, _please_ tell me Erin has still got Chris wrapped around her little finger," he muttered in Meghan's ear and she nodded slowly. "Yup. In fact," she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, "she should be reinforcing that relationship any minute now."

Erin reached up and smacked Chris on the back of the head, stopping his sound effects and scaring him simultaneously. "What the heck is wrong with you two? The poor guy just got out of the hospital. Are you six or sixteen?"

Chris and Mike looked over at each other, the former rubbing his head. Evil grins crossed their lips as they each held up six fingers. "This many!" they yelled into Erin's face, rendering momentarily motionless. She blinked, stunned, before pure murder crossed her face and she leapt after the duo, threatening death.

Meghan chuckled and leaned back into Jason's embrace, watching the antics of their friends. Jason rested his chin on his girlfriend's head, breathing in the scent of her hair. "How's your hand?" he asked, holding the cast up where he could see it.

The head under his bobbed up and down as Meghan shrugged. "It doesn't hurt, really. It's just kind of uncomfortable."

"I know what you mean," Jason said, feeling his shirt rub against his scar. He heard Meghan snort under him and he grinned. "We should skip class today."

"Uh, no. I think we just got out of pretty impressive trouble, I don't plan on doing so again for a very. Long. Time." Meghan swung neatly into her chair, leaving Jason to ease himself into the desk behind her.

They went through the whole day together, except for the two classes they had separate. Jason made it a point to see Meghan's face at least once every passing period, and when they did have class together, he screwed up the seating arrangements to be by her. The teachers didn't seem to care. In fact, most of them merely smiled and went about with the lesson like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

At the end of the day, Jason prayed to the proverbial gods of teenage love to let his parents be lenient enough to let him walk home. As his cell phone dialed up Don's number, Jason hopped around on one foot, than the other, eyes raised to the heavens.

"Detective Don Flack speaking."

"Pops? It's your one and only offspring!"

"Jason! Hey, how was school?"

"Not bad, not bad. I think a student teacher offered me her number."

"Jason…"

"Kidding!" Jason winked at Mike, who was bent over in silent giggles. "Hey, listen. Can I, possibly, on the small chance that you and Mom remember what it was like to be young and innocent, walkMeghanhome?" He crushed the request together quickly, squeezing his eyes shut as he awaited judgment.

On the other end of the line, Don froze. He hadn't been expecting this so soon. Any smart, normal kid would have been cautious to go out on the streets after an attempt on his life. And Don prided himself on having a first honor roll son. Jason's behavior was uncustomary with his past experiences. But he thought about the explosion that had turned him inside out, and how he had wanted nothing more than to get back on the job. Even then, Don had known that Flacks were made of stronger stuff than the rest of the world. Or so Don Flack Junior liked to believe.

"Sure, I guess. Just be home before your mom gets off shift, huh? She'll kill me if you go missin'."

Jason opened his eyes, one fist shooting into the air victoriously. "Sure, okay, Dad. What time is that?" He began scanning the crowd for any sign of Meghan and located her standing by the front doors with Erin and Chris. He waved Mike over that way, mouthing that he would be there momentarily.

"Five-thirty," Don's voice came through the speaker, "and please, be careful, huh, Jase? I really, really, don't want a repeat of-"

"I know, Dad." Jason smiled reassuringly, even though Don couldn't see him. "We'll be fine, okay? Bye!" He hung up before Don could protest and wound through the crowd to catch up with his friends.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Jason spread his arms wide as he bounded into the group. "As much as I love your company, me and my girl got somewhere to be. So without further ado," he offered his arm to Meghan, who took it, crossing her eyes at Erin, "we take our leave." Jason pulled Meghan out the front doors and into New York sunshine.

"Where are we going?" Meghan giggled, leaning into Jason's arm. He looked down at her, taking in her eyes glinting in the sunlight and the way her hair shone like warm honey. "I have an idea," he said, dragging her along as he determinedly wound his way through the city streets.

---

"I haven't been here in I don't know how long." Meghan collapsed into the swing, letting her head fall against the metal chain. Jason stood in front of her, arms crossed, staring over her head at the playground situated in the middle of Central Park. "Yeah, me neither." He laughed suddenly and flopped down onto woodchips in front of Meghan's swing. "Do you remember when we were five, and you chipped my tooth on the slide over there?"

"And then you split my lip when we were eight on the jungle gym." Meghan cocked a crooked grin. "Don't act like you're free of guilt, Flack."

Jason grinned and rose up on his knees, resting his elbows against Meghan's thighs. "What I'm tryin' to get at is: you and I have had our fair share of injuries, haven't we?"

"And they've all been induced by each other." Meghan ran her fingers through his dark hair, mesmerized by Jason's emerald eyes.

"Yeah." Jason put his chin in the palms of his hands, grinning easily. "But we've never stopped being friends."

"Nope." Meghan ran one finger down the side of Jason's face, tracing an invisible line to his neck.

"Meghan." Jason's voice was low and she bit her lip anxiously. "I know I said it in the hospital, but it wasn't clear enough for me." He cleared his throat and rose up closer to her face. "I love you, Meghan Marie Messer, with every fiber in my body, natural and otherwise. I've been in love with you since we were thirteen years old, and somehow I don't think that's going to change for a long, long time." He let his eyes wander over her stunned face, watching for signs of change, "I know we've had some pretty messy moments in these past couple of years, but right here, with you, is magic, and I-"

"Need to shut up and kiss me." It was Meghan's turn to cut someone off and she did it quickly, bending her head to press her lips to Jason's. He jumped to his feet, pulling her up with him, unwilling to break the contact. She squealed into his mouth, but continued kissing him with every ounce of strength she had in her body.

To the old couple sitting on the bench, it looked like had been a wedding proposal gone right. To the little kids playing in the sandbox, it looked icky. To Meghan and Jason, it looked perfect. It looked magic.

It looked right.

**The End**


End file.
